Poof! goes $6.4bn of Ted Turner's fortune
Losing an estimated $6.4bn of an $8bn fortune in the stock market plunge might make most philanthropists tighten their purse-strings. But Ted Turner, though he admits to being "crushed" by the change in his fortunes, insists he will see through to the end his historic $1bn donation to the UN.
At a UN meeting to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his pledge - then the largest philanthropic donation by a person in history - Mr Turner, 64, promised to pay the remaining $500m (£320m) because he has loved the UN since boyhood.
But he caused consternation in his UN remarks with the metaphor he used to describe the fate of his personal fortune.
"I went from no money to a pile of money as big as the World Trade Centre, and then, just like the World Trade Centre, poof! - it was gone overnight," the CNN founder said. "That's terrible."
The trust overseeing the donation has already released $500m to the cash-strapped UN, but has decided to spread the second half over 10 years, instead of five, amid the slumping fortunes of AOL Time Warner, the company of which Mr Turner's news network is now a part.
Explaining his gift, Mr Turner told the Guardian earlier this year: "I'm doing everything I can to try and avert disaster while we kind of give us a little time to get our act together, because in time we'll have to do it. Either that, or, you know ... it's goodbye."
At a UN meeting to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his pledge - then the largest philanthropic donation by a person in history - Mr Turner, 64, promised to pay the remaining $500m (£320m) because he has loved the UN since boyhood.
But he caused consternation in his UN remarks with the metaphor he used to describe the fate of his personal fortune.
"I went from no money to a pile of money as big as the World Trade Centre, and then, just like the World Trade Centre, poof! - it was gone overnight," the CNN founder said. "That's terrible."
The trust overseeing the donation has already released $500m to the cash-strapped UN, but has decided to spread the second half over 10 years, instead of five, amid the slumping fortunes of AOL Time Warner, the company of which Mr Turner's news network is now a part.
Explaining his gift, Mr Turner told the Guardian earlier this year: "I'm doing everything I can to try and avert disaster while we kind of give us a little time to get our act together, because in time we'll have to do it. Either that, or, you know ... it's goodbye."
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