Hello, millennials - do you recall CNN, TCM films, or better still, Cartoon Network? This is the individual who shaped many of our cherished childhood moments. Also famously recognized as the gentleman who committed $1 billion to the United Nations in 1997 and casually remarked, "It's fun to do good!". So, as many others have wondered, we sought to find out, "Where does Ted Turner currently reside?"
What You Probably Didn’t Know About Ted Turner?
Did you know that Ted Turner was the founder and chairman of the United Nations Foundation? Using the $1 billion investment, Turner's commitment to helping solve global concerns had him create the UN Foundation in 1998.
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Besides supporting and founding the foundation, Ted Turner remains a brilliant character with many accomplishments.
Robert Edward Turner III, better known as Ted Turner, is a notable American entrepreneur, TV producer, media proprietor, passionate environmentalist, and philanthropist. Ted was born on 19 November 1938 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. He's the eldest child of his parents, Robert Edward Turner II., commonly known as Ed, and Florence Turner, aka Rooney.
Ted Turner’s Early Work Career
Ted started working in his father's company, Turner Advertising company, which he became president and CEO in 1963. He later renamed it the Turner Broadcasting Company. In 1996, Time Warner purchased the Turner Broadcasting company for $7.5 billion.
In 1980, he founded and debuted the first 24-hour cable news channel, Cable News Network (CNN). As CNN founder, Ted Turner also started WTBS, which pioneered the concept of superstations in cable television. WTBS later morphed into Turner Broadcasting System (TBS). Additionally, he started TV-6, which was one of Russia's first commercial TV stations.
Ted Turner co-founded and founded many companies and organizations in the totality of his prosperous career in broadcasting.
Ted Turner’s Family Life
Throughout all this, media proprietor and television producer Turner got married and divorced three different times. His third marriage to actress and activist Jane Fonda is the most talked-about. Ted Turner and Jane Fonda were married for 10 years, from 1991-2001.
Turner has five children in total from his first and second marriages. Ted founded the Turner Foundation in 1990, which allows him to collaborate with his children and grandchildren.
They all work together to help each other remain responsible environmentalists and philanthropists.
Ted Turner’s Large Mansion in the Avalon Ranch Land
Ted Turner first purchased 8,000 acres in Tallahassee, Florida. He admits that he also thought it was a bit of a stretch but later grew accustomed to it, especially after realizing he needed more. Turner purchased an additional 25,000 acres along the way, making the Avalon Ranch one of the largest quail plantations in Florida and Georgia.
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This far, Ted Turner owns or, in his words, has 'collected' well over 2 million acres of personal and ranch land. To give you a rough idea, collectively, this is slightly larger than Rhode Island. Two million acres of personal and ranch land make Ted Turner, by all accounts, the second-largest private landowner in the U.S.
The Avalon Ranch can only be described as a naturalist's paradise. Besides that, Turner owns a piece of history with this property, dating back to 1826. Back then, it was known as the Welaunee cotton plantation and was owned by a member of the distinguished Gamble family of Virginia.
Turner built a 15,000-square-foot large mansion on this ranch; an area spread over 30,000 acres. The house was designed by one of the famous architects, Albert E. Olson, in a French style, and it was finished in 1938, the year Turner was born. This is currently Turner's main residence.
The Exterior of Turner’s Mansion on Avalon Ranch
There's a long driveway lined with live oak and old pine within the ranch leading to the Colonial Revival plantation house.
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The 15,000-square-foot house has a white multi-columned façade with curved twin wings that betokens all graces.
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Behind the mansion, there's a three-tier formal garden and a natural lake that runs 300 acres. A mile and a half away, there's another artificial lake, which is well stocked with bass and bream. Surprisingly, the ranch has no pool, which applies to all his ranches. Ted Turner confesses that he's not really into pools, which would explain why.
The broad lawn, towering live oaks, and the hilly landscape give this place a lovely quaint outlook and a nice breeze out that comes in handy during the summer.
This estate is also home to different animals that Ted Turner happily lives with. These animals include wolves and bison. He even had Beau, his son, help maintain the ecology on this land.
Initially, Turner purchased his land in the Western States for wildlife spotting, hunting, and fishing, but he's maintained that he's always thought of animals as more than targets. This is why he started the Turner Endangered Species Fund to protect different animals while the Turner Foundation helps prevent environmental degradation.
Additionally, the mission statement of Turner Enterprises reads, "To manage Turner lands in an economically sustainable and ecologically sensitive manner while promoting the conservation of native species."
Towards this mission statement, Turner plans to place most of his land under conservation easement. This is geared towards warding off any future development on any of the 2 million acres he owns.
Ted Turner has a remarkable fascination for bison, the national mammal, which was nearly extinct before he set about bringing the first bison in 1976. The bison herd predominantly occupies the 17 Turner ranches. The Turner bison herd is the largest private herd globally, with approximately 45,000 bison.
On the front yard is a quail wagon, traditionally pulled by a pair of mules. This adds to that old Southern touch.
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It was a gift that Jane Fonda and all five of his children got together to make for Turner.
The Interior of Ted Turner’s House on Avalon Ranch
Would it surprise you that Ted Turner, an avid businessman, negotiated to purchase the Avalon Ranch house and its furnishing and antiques from the family selling it?
The house interior is quite formal with a traditional Southern interior design. Every nook and corner of the living area is decorated with several photographs of Ted's family. The living room is also well planned and looks well. In addition, the living room and dining room have outstanding nautical paintings that give the rooms more character.
Ted Turner is famous for having one of the largest private collections of Bierstadt's paintings. The entrance hall noticeably has dog portraits and several of Albert Bierstadt's signature works. Bierstadt is a 19th-century artist renowned for his golden-toned panoramas of the American West.
The most remarkable of the paintings in Turner's house is the portrait of Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, which overlooks the living room. Additionally, a Directoire clock rests on the mantel above the fireplace. The fireplace gives the room a perfectly symmetrical focal point.
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The room is also well lit with large windows that pour sunlight into the room. The classic chandelier in the middle adds to that old Southern vibe.
On one side of the room, above a white couch, there's a large portrait by Albert Bierstadt, Deer at Sunset, 1887. To its right, there's a nautical painting by Tim Thompson, the contemporary artist.
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The left-wing from the living room directs you to the bedroom wing, while the one on the right directs you to the kitchen.
Further on, we get to the dining room. Ted Turner warmly divulges that he spends Thanksgiving and Christmas in this same dining area with his five children and their families. On the dining room mantel, are two Directoire candelabra and another nautical portrait by Montague Dawson, Chinese Port—Morning Departure.
On the side, is a 19th-century giltwood and eglomise mirror that complements the American console that's placed by the windows on each side.
The dining room has George III mahogany chairs that stand on an oriental Oushak rug. The room is dominantly traditional, but elements such as this 15th-century chic masterpiece give it a life of its own.
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When you head to the main bedroom, the Heads Apart portrait by Henry Stull that's just above the fireplace sticks out most. The cabinet-on-chest on the left is northern Italian and dates to the 18th century.
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Like the rest of the house, the bedroom maintains a traditional and classic interior design with white and nude undertones.
The house is generally warm and homey; you'd see why Ted Turner spends most of his time here.
You can also read about Tucker Carlson's 3 homes.
Ted Turner’s Hacienda-style Home in New Mexico
Ted first learned about New Mexico when he started dating Jane Fonda. Later, the second-largest private landowner would come to build a private desert lodge on this 362,885-acre property. This is the Armendaris Ranch, a wild animal reserve that neighbors the Fra Cristobal Mountains.
So far, he has acquired more land, including the Ladder Ranch and Vermejo Park Ranch in Southern New Mexico, managed by the Turner Endangered Species Fund. In total, Turner owns roughly 1.1 million acres of land in New Mexico.
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The Ted Turner ranches all feature either or all of these; bison ranching, limited sustainable timber harvesting, commercial hunting, or fishing. His latest business venture is a restaurant chain specializing in bovine mammal meat, dabbed Ted's, Montana Grill. Turner's land was first developed to raise bison for the restaurant.
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With time it also provided a sanctuary for endangered species that were successfully reintroduced, including the desert bighorn sheep, bison, pronghorn, and Bolson tortoises.
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Ted Turner comes out to this part of the world during winter in the Western states.
The Exterior of the Hacienda-style Home
He wanted this four-bedroom hacienda to partner with its surroundings. So, he had Laura Hunt, a Dallas designer; Jennifer Bear, a landscape architect; and Chris Carson, a San Antonio architect, give him just that.
Jennifer Bear introduced native plants, including the soaptree yucca, tobosa grass, and black grama grass, to help blend the surrounding with the landscape. Ted wanted the house to unify with the landscape in color like the grass around it, which took several months to achieve.
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The exterior of the house is quite laid back, with features that don't stick out. This is exactly what Ted wanted. The portale to the house opens up to a liberating walled courtyard, while the west patio is perfectly situated for lovely sunsets and sundowners.
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Ted's four-bedroom house comprises the main bedroom in the main house and three guest rooms on the side with an open outdoor corridor leading to each of them. This also means you'll enjoy a brief walk in the open air to get to the main house from the guestrooms.
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The house has a latilla-covered porch on the side to create a lovely shade for the great room inside.
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The house features and design have achieved a balance and unison with its surrounding.
The Interior of the Hacienda-style Home
The interior space is pretty much an extension of the open air outside- just a shade lighter.
The house has masonry walls comprising old-fashioned tiles and clay, 18 inches thick, to keep out the cold during winter and keep things cool indoors in the summer heat. This is most ideal in New Mexico for both floors and roofs.
The designers made several trips to the local communities to get stones for the fireplaces, tiles for the roof and baths, and antique doors for the entrance. In addition, Mesquite, a natural material used as a fuel for cooking, is used as the floor in the great room and space connecting the living and dining room. All these natural elements give the home a harmonious feel and look.
The floor colors in the house vary from a rich brown to a dark brown, that's beyond beautiful.
The great room primarily sticks to its Spanish origin, however, it has European overtones, which have been attained by the use of different elements such as paintings. Notable, there are paintings by Albert Bierstadt by each side of the fireplace, while the side tables on each side act as a display of the circa 1910–40 Navajo copper boxes.
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Further on is the formal dining area with plenty of window space overlooking the distant mountains, letting in the sun's rays as the sun rises and sets. By each side of the main window are George Catlin prints.
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Next is the informal dining room, which mostly has antique Native American baskets to decorate the walls. A smaller window on the side lets in just enough light to light up the room. It maintains a wooden and rustic theme with a rich wooden dining table and chair set.
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Further into the house is the kitchen, which was historically based on Spanish colonial home kitchens in San Miguel de Allende, in most Mexico ranches.
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Next to the kitchen is the master bedroom. Ted has kept things simple here, with few furniture pieces such as the small but sturdy walnut writing table. Right above the writing table and console paintings by Bierstadt. The print on one side is by Catlin.
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The interior is largely decorated with American West—native artifacts, such as the bison hide used on the bed's headboard and skirt. It looks like suede, just a bit rougher.
Interestingly, there's a bison logo emblem on just about everything— except the lightbulbs. This includes everything ranging from towels to M&Ms and poker chips.
Ted Turner is a good example to show that economically successful doesn't mean being mutually exclusive to an environmentally sustainable lifestyle.
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