There are many celebrities whose activities have left their mark on people's minds. One of these is Ted Turner, a well-known media mogul, founder of CNN. He always went his own way, avoiding patterns and stereotypes, which made him known as a businessman, philanthropist and extraordinary person.
Eccentric billionaire
American businessman Ted Turner has never been docile. From a young age, he showed independence of his character, for which he was beaten more than once by his father. This trait has left its mark on the way news is presented by CNN. Repeatedly this channel uncompromisingly delivered information bypassing government bans, which earned the love of ordinary people.
Ted never considered the opinions of others. In his news, he made fun of politicians, religious organizations, and businessmen. If necessary, he could turn the White House administration inside out.
Thanks to his eccentric nature, he was not afraid to look funny. Once at a meeting of the Turner Broadcasting System, he appeared in military uniforms during the civil war of the North and the South of the United States and was present at it in this form.
Youth Ted Turner
November 19, 1938 in the family of the owner of an advertising agency, Ed Turner, a child was born, who was named Ted.
At that time, parents lived in Cincinnati, and the boy spent his early childhood there. Then the family moved to Tennessee, where the school and student years of the hero of the article passed.
Father often punished Ted physically. But he himself admitted that the beatings tempered his character, which helped him in adulthood.
Ted spent his youth in various closed schools. The first school he attended was McCallie Boarding Academy. He never pleased teachers with exemplary behavior and constantly received penalties. He was more interested in making stuffed squirrels, which he caught on the school grounds.
Disciphers were forced to flee for half a mile around school buildings. During the first six months of his training, Ted collected more than a thousand such punishments, which made teachers think about their inefficiency.
While studying at school, Ted had to participate in team competitions. But nowhere did he succeed, which was due to his individualist character. The only area in which he was successful was sailing. From the age of 9, Ted participated in sailing regattas. Often deliberately took risks for the sake of victory. But there were cases when he crashed. Subsequently, he will become a two-time winner of the national sailing regatta.
School ended, and Ted had to choose where to go further. He himself wanted to enter the Faculty of Philology in order to become a teacher of the Greek language. The father did not like this decision, and he persuaded his son to get an economic education, which was very helpful.
Studying at Brown University, Ted Turner had good performance, he did not give up sailing. At the same time, he was known as a racket and a regular at student parties, which was popular with women. This is not surprising, because in his youth Ted Turner in the photo looks very attractive.
Later, after 3 years, he was expelled for immoral behavior on the student campus. The conflict could be hushed up, but the student’s behavior towards the university administration was too disrespectful.
In the footsteps of father
Returning home in 1960, Ted begins working in his father's company. Persistence and a smart mind helped to beat local competitors in the advertising market. He soon married Judy Gale.
However, the marriage did not last long, since in the life of Ted a black stripe began.
Despite the fact that the business at Ted’s division went uphill, in general, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Father, unable to pay off his debts, committed suicide in the head. But before that, he sold the company to competitors.
Family business was the only livelihood, so the young man decided to bring it back. He appealed to the chairman of Turner Billboards advertising corporation with a request to annul the transaction made by his father. But the chairman was adamant. He did not see an entrepreneur in Ed Turner's son, he considered him a simple playboy who wants to cut down easy money.
This refusal made Turner Jr. reconsider his views on doing business. He developed a new approach, which can be described with the slogan "Business is war." Ted had not considered others before, but after changing the paradigm, he began to act harshly and uncompromisingly.
First victory
Having persuaded the former employees of his department, Ted was able to redo the documentation, which was a key link in the transfer of the company. Then he notified the new owners that if they did not cancel the transaction made by his father, he would burn documents proving its legitimacy.
Turner Billboards management again underestimated Ted. As an inexperienced person in business, they gave him an ultimatum: either he takes $ 200 thousand and abandons his claims, or he pays $ 200 thousand to the corporation and becomes the owner of a family company.
The expectation was that greed would prevail, but Ted replied that he was choosing his father's business.
Despite the fact that there was no money to pay, Ted managed to get out of this story without debt. Having sold the shares belonging to the family, he paid.
This whole story inspired confidence in entrepreneur Ted Turner. She served as the basis for his further manner of doing business. He understood that business relations are built on the principle of the animal world: either you eat, or you are eaten. In later life, he always took an offensive position.
Television as a means of promoting business
The subsequent success story of Ted Turner was related to the development of television technology. It was 1964. Ted marries a second time, actress Shirley Smith. Their marriage lasted 23 years, after which she left, leaving Teda with five children, three of whom were inherited from his second marriage, and two from his first.
The outdoor advertising business has come to the point after which its development stopped. Among entrepreneurs, there is an opinion that if there is no development, then a rollback is sure to happen. It is impossible to be on the same level. Knowing this, Ted turned his attention to television and broadcasting as new advertising tools. In addition, he decides to enlist the support of the ruling circles and joins the Republican Party.
1967 was a turning point in the biography of Ted Turner. He becomes a media mogul, having bought up the bankrupt television station WTCG. It was a news channel. To get him out of the crisis, it was necessary to interest the audience with something. And the first change that set him apart from the rest of the news channels was the time shift of the news release. At that time, news was broadcast at the beginning and in the middle of each hour. Ted changed this time by moving it 5 minutes ahead.
Over the next 10 years, many changes have occurred. In 1970, thanks to the introduction of television technology, his father's advertising firm became the largest in the southwestern United States. Then Turner Broadcasting Systems was founded, under whose wing many successful television projects were implemented. The WTCG channel has become increasingly popular.
In 1976, businessman Ted Turner relies on broadcasting sporting events. In this regard, he buys the Atlanta Braves baseball team. Having exclusive rights to broadcast matches involving this team, I managed to make good money. This was the reason for the purchase of the Atlanta Hawks basketball team.
Then he acquired a lower level football and hockey team.
The birth of CNN
1980 was marked by the advent of CNN. Ted Turner, the creator of the first 24-hour news channel, fought for two years to bring CNN to the lead in its niche. At first, things went so bad that the channel was popularly called the Chicken Noodle Network, which meant "chicken broth television." It was understood that the news was as mundane as chicken stock. Losses at that time amounted to more than $ 2 million per month, and the salary of employees was lower than that of employees of broadcasting channels.
After 2 years, thanks to Ted's investment and his enthusiasm, things began to improve. His connections with the government helped to get exclusive access to political events and places of hostilities.
The format of round-the-clock broadcasting has become so popular that the news began to be broadcast not only in the United States, but also in other English-speaking countries. The channel received branches in Japan (1982), in Europe (1985), and by the beginning of the new millennium broadcasting was conducted in 7 languages.
Ted Turner managed to lure the most untied reporters from other channels, the method of reporting which did not allow them to realize themselves. Here they, having received complete freedom of action, released the news almost uncensored. The only condition the boss set for them was to be the first at the scene. Over the years, CNN correspondents covered military operations in Iraq, the war in Yugoslavia, and the armed coup in Russia.
In 1986, Ted begins to try his hand at the film industry. For starters, he acquired the film company Metro Goldwyn Mayer. However, the purchase turned out to be unprofitable, and after 4 years of ownership MGM had to be sold. This was the third time he was on the verge of bankruptcy. The only successful event that happened in the personal life of Ted Turner at that time was the marriage of the famous actress Jane Fonda.
However, after the sale of MGM, Ted reserved the rights to broadcast black and white films shot by the company. As a result of this, lovers of westerns and ancient cinema can return to the past with the Turner Classic Movies channel.
This channel is different in that it is completely free of advertising. It is based on films that have earned the recognition of viewers of past years. There are no TV shows and low-grade films. In total, the collection has over 5, 000 ribbons.
Risk is an inevitable business companion
The biography of Ted Turner is replete with cases of risk when his enterprises were on the verge of failure. Three times he was on the verge of bankruptcy, and each time he found the strength to turn the tide. One of the leaders of Cable News Network recalled how Turner asked himself: “Why did I get involved in this business? I have only 100 million dollars. I’m probably crazy. ” For two years, creditors followed on his heels, and he was on the verge of bankruptcy, but thanks to his indefatigable energy he achieved success.
A similar situation was in his passion for sailing. He often took risks. Once, after a shipwreck, he had to be rescued by helicopter. During one of the sailing races, a hurricane began. All participants were forced to sail. The only one who did not do this was Ted Turner. Then 15 athletes died in the hurricane.
From early childhood, Ted showed a rebellious spirit, which caused trouble to his family. He said to himself: "I want to be the master of the world." Few people have such desires in childhood. But it was they who allowed him to become what he became. One of Ted Turner's famous quotes: “Business is a war in which wounded are killed and prisoners are not taken.”
Information business is growing
In 1989, Ted founded Turner Network Television, an entertainment television channel. This was the beginning of the satellite television era. Thanks to new technologies, TNT has been broadcast in more than 200 countries.
In 1990, the SportSouth sports and entertainment channel appeared, which showed all significant sporting events. In addition, he covered the activities of sports teams belonging to Turner.
Subsequently, TNT was renamed Turner Broadcasting Systems Times Inc. Ted owned it for 8 years, after which he sold it for $ 7.4 billion, while retaining the post of vice president of the company.
The main brainchild of businessman Ted Turner was CNN. He never interfered in the method of presenting information. He later recalled: “I was always interested in the news. Even before I founded CNN. I wanted to not only know them, but also to cover them. But what was the main thing in those years? Of course, the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. I’ve always wondered how 12% of the world's population can decide the fate of the rest of the world: live it or die?"
Famous Philanthropist
Being by nature a maximalist, Ted completely devoted himself not only to business, but also, for example, to charity. As a billionaire, he donated a third of his fortune to UN charitable projects. Back in the 1980s, he transferred several million educational institutions in which he studied. Then, in 1997, he publicly announced that he would donate $ 1 billion to charity. This was the first large-scale charity project of its kind, and the first to implement it was Ted Turner, whose personal fortune was then $ 3 billion.
He received many reproaches for this act from the outside, to which he always answered: “Yes, the UN is not perfect, as in any organization, it has bureaucratic flaws, but it has noble goals. A hit by Nikita Khrushchev with a shoe on a table is better than an atomic explosion. ”
By his action, Ted set an example for many wealthy people on the planet. He said: “I am proud of what I have done. Many billionaires do nothing good for others. Having become one of them, I was shocked by their unwillingness to help humanity. ” After that, he began to urge the media to voice the names of those who donate for good purposes. After all, these billionaires revel in their position, watching their names move to the top positions in the lists of the richest people. It is possible that conscience will awaken in them, and charity will become a good form among owners of capital.
Ted said that he always liked to do generous things. At the same time, he noted that luck compensated for what he gave to others. And not always with money. Sometimes these were successful financial decisions, sometimes they were necessary acquaintances, but everything somehow led him to success.
Nevertheless, it was not always easy for him to make such decisions. There is a moment in the biography of Ted Turner’s personal life when, being married to Jane Foundation, he hesitated to tell her about his desire to donate $ 1 billion to charity. Tormented all night, he finally told her about it. In response, he heard: "It was because of your generosity that I loved you."
As the owner of the largest news company, Ted is aware of the global challenges of humanity. Knowing about them, he cannot but direct his efforts to fight them. In recent years, he has been spending his earned fortune on maintaining the environment, solving the problems of female inequality, and advocating general disarmament.
