Ted Turner, the media mogul behind CNN, which revolutionized TV news as the first 24-hour cable network, died Wednesday at 87, according to a release from Turner Enterprises reported by CNN.

He had revealed just before his 80th birthday that he had Lewy Body Dementia, a neurological disorder that causes dementia and muscle failure, and was reportedly in a rehab center in early 2025 after a bout of pneumonia. 

His life work included founding Turner Broadcasting System, which housed cable channels TNT, TBS and Cartoon Network, as well as Turner Classic Movies. He also formerly owned the Atlanta Braves.

Turner – known for his brash, outspoken personality and thin mustache – was also a philanthropist, founding the United Nations Foundation; a bison rancher and conservationist; a yacht collector; and a political activist.

President Trump confirmed Turner’s passing in a Truth Social post Wednesday morning, calling the CNN founder “one of the Greats of All Time” and “a friend of mine” who was “always willing to fight for a good cause.”

“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement. He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN,” Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, told The Post in a statement Wednesday.

“Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”

The Ohio native founded the Cable News Network on June 1, 1980, at a converted Jewish country club in Atlanta, ultimately building it out into a continuous, global news network with a sprawl of other bureaus.

At first, there were doubts around whether CNN could carve out its own niche in broadcast news, with some critics dubbing it “Chicken Noodle News” – mocking the network’s lower budget and on-air slips.

But Turner’s network proved itself during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, when it was the sole US network to broadcast a live, unedited feed from Baghdad as bombs illuminated the sky.

Its live coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Chinese student protests in Tiananmen Square and the space shuttle Challenger explosion further solidified it as a dominant source of world news for Americans.

Nicknamed “The Mouth of the South” for his bold nature, Turner had a famous rivalry with Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News and The New York Post, and a surprising friendship with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

He was married and divorced three times. His third marriage to Hollywood star Jane Fonda in 1991 lasted nearly a decade.

As rival media mavericks swooped in to launch their own cable news networks, Turner took on substantial debt as he attempted a dealmaking spree to save his media empire.

He was eventually forced to sell CNN and Turner Broadcasting System to Time Warner for roughly $7.34 billion in 1996, which he later said was a regret and the “worst day of my life.”

In 2000, Time Warner sold itself to AOL. It is widely considered one of the worst media mergers in US history, and Turner called it “one of the biggest disasters that have occurred to our country.”

In his social media post Wednesday, Trump wrote: “He [Turner] founded CNN, sold it, and was personally devastated by the Deal because the new ownership took CNN, his ‘baby,’ and destroyed it.”

“It became woke, and everything that he is not all about. Maybe the new buyers, wonderful people, will be able to bring it back to its former credibility and glory,” Trump added.

CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is currently in the process of being sold to Paramount Skydance, which is run by the billionaire Ellison family, as part of a $111 billion deal.

“Ted was a visionary, a trailblazer, and a foundational force behind many of the brands that are central to Warner Bros. Discovery today,” WBD CEO David Zaslav said in a note to staffers Wednesday.

“On behalf of our entire company, we extend our deepest condolences to Ted’s family and to the many colleagues and partners whose lives and careers were shaped by his vision. It is our responsibility to honor and carry forward the legacy he built.”