Born: November 19, 1938
Place of Birth: Cincinnati, Ohio
Major Notes:
Ted Turner, a noted philanthropist, has promised to donate one billion dollars to the United Nations.
His father successfully built up an advertising company promoting the use of billboards.
As a youth, Turner was a student for eight years at a military school in Tennessee.
Not noted as a gifted student, Ted Turner went on to qualify for a degree from Brown University of Providence, Rhode Island.
Turner started his business career working at his father's company, Turner Advertising.
His father died by suicide in 1963 and Ted Turner formed a company called Turner Broadcasting System.
In 1970, he acquired an Atlanta television channel and by 1976 he owned Atlanta's professional baseball and basketball teams.
He soon set up what he termed a television "superstation" making use of satellite transmission.
By 1980, Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld brought in a 24-hour news network known as CNN which, by 1985, was seen in over 200 countries.
He continued to show his expertise in business when TBS merged with Time Warner forming a media giant.
Time Warner, as the company was called, then merged with America Online, the largest internet service provider in the US.
From 2001-2003, Turner served as the Vice Chairman of AOL Time Warner, considered the world's largest communication network.
In addition to his many business interests, Turner set up what is known as the Turner Foundation, Inc.
Turner Foundation is central to his philanthropic efforts and is concerned with the environment and population problems of the world.
Ted Turner has received numerous honors and awards including Time Magazine's 1991 "Man of the Year" and Cable and Broadcasting's "Man of the Century" in 1999
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