ICT ASSIGNMENT

Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on November 19, 1938. Ted attended school in Tennessee after his family moved there when he was nine years old. He went to Brown University but got expelled after he was caught with a female companion in his dormitory room. Since that time he has married and separated from fitness guru and actress Jane Fonda.

When he was 24 his father committed suicide and Ted took over his father's billboard business. He went on to purchase Atlanta UHF and started assembling his Turner Broadcasting System.
His competitive nature and fondness of sport led him to victory in yachting's America Cup in 1977. He bought the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks in 1976 and 1977 respectively. Arguably it was a smart move as it gave his budding media empire some further exclusives. In 1980 he launched CNN, the first round-the-clock news network. CNN became more prominent as it started getting a reputation for having its r reporters first on any scene. Some of the incidents that marked CNN as a serious network were the covering of the Reagan assassination attempt in 1981, the Challenger disaster in 1986 and the first Persian Gulf War in 1991.
In 1986 Turner tried to purchase CBS, but he failed and so he bought Metro-Goldwyn-Myer (MGM) / United artists instead. He used their extensive film library to launch TNT in 1988. He also launched Cartoon Network using some of the assets of the afore-mentioned purchase. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner Inc. and Ted Turner became the Vice Chairman of the company of which he now owned 10% - the largest individual stockholder.
Turner's love of sport extends to fishing and hunting. It would not come as much of a surprise then to say that he is the largest private landowner in America (around 2 million acres) and the largest commercial herd of Bison (around 32000 head) are spread on his various ranches.
Not only does Ted Turner invest for himself, he also supports various foundations. Probably the most well known of his commitments are the $1 billion he pledged to the United Nations Foundation. Some of the other causes he supports are the Turner Foundation, Inc, Turner Endangered Species Fund and the Nuclear Threat Initiative. He is also the originator of the Goodwill Games that started in 1986.
Ted Turner could have become one of the richest individuals in the world. Instead he chose to donate large amounts of his wealth to worthwhile causes. So he has to be satisfied with a Forbes 400 outside the top 10. In doing so, Ted Turner ensured that he is leaving a lasting legacy beyond his wealth.