R.E. Turner is currently Chairman of Turner Enterprises,
Inc. which was created in 1976 to oversee Turner's
private landholdings. The company’s mission
is to manage Turner lands in an economically sustainable
and ecologically sensitive manner while promoting
the conservation of native species. Turner is also
Chairman of the United Nations Foundation, a charitable
organization he founded to support United Nations
causes, and Chairman of the Turner Foundation, Inc.,
the Turner family's private grant-making organization,
which focuses on population and the environment.
Turner co-chairs the Nuclear Threat Initiative with
Senator Sam Nunn. The Nuclear Threat Initiative
seeks to strengthen global security by reducing
the risk of use and preventing the spread of nuclear,
biological and chemical weapons.
Turner is a member of the board of directors of
the National Cable Television Association, the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Change, the
Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the International
Founders Council of the Smithsonian Institution's
Museum of the American Indian, the Business Council
for the United Nations, and Brown University.
In 1980, Turner inaugurated CNN, the world's first,
live, in-depth, round-the-clock news television
network. A second all-news service, Headline News,
began operation on January 1, 1982, offering updated
newscasts every half-hour. Launched in September
1985, CNN International serves as the company's
global news service and is distributed in more than
210 countries and territories worldwide.
Turner originated the Goodwill Games in 1985 as
a quadrennial, multi-sport, international, world-class
competition. The inaugural Goodwill Games were held
in July 1986 in Moscow and were followed by the
1990 Games in Seattle, Washington, the 1994 Games
in St. Petersburg, Russia, and most recently, the
1998 Games in New York City. The 2001 Goodwill games
took place in Brisbane, Australia.
Mr. Turner became Vice Chairman of Time Warner in
October 1996, with the merger of Time Warner Inc.
and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Mr. Turner
oversaw Time Warner's Cable Networks division, which
included the assets of Turner Broadcasting System,
Inc. (TBS, Inc.), the CNN Newsgroup, as well as
Home Box Office, Cinemax, and the company's interests
in Comedy Central and Court TV. He also oversaw
New Line Cinema and the company's professional sports
teams-the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta
Thrashers. In January 2001, he became Vice Chairman
of AOL Time Warner, a position from which he served
until May 2003.
Turner is an active environmentalist and has received
numerous civic and industry awards and honors, including
being named Time magazine's 1991 Man of the Year.
He is also a superior yachtsman, having won national
and world sailing titles, including a successful
defense of the 1977 America's Cup, the 1979 Fastnet
Trophy and four Yachtsman of the Year awards.
In January 2002, Turner opened the first Ted's Montana
Grill in Columbus, Ohio with his partner, George
W. McKerrow Jr., founder of the Longhorn Steakhouse
chain and several other successful restaurants.
Ted's Montana Grill offers classic American comfort
food, including bison or beef burgers, in an authentic
Montana bar and grill atmosphere. Ted's Montana
Grill expects to open up to forty more restaurants
in the next few years.
Turner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Nov. 19,
1938. When he was nine years old, his family moved
to Savannah, Georgia. He received a degree from
Brown University, where he was vice president of
the Debating Union and commodore of the Yacht Club.
Mr. Turner is the father of five children and resides
in Tallahassee, Florida.
R.
E. Turner
UN
Foundation Founder and Religious
Institutions Mobilize $200
Million for MDGs 
