Ted Turner Dies at 87 After Warning of Nuclear, Climate and Population Risks

Ted Turner died Wednesday at 87, according to a statement from Turner Enterprises. In a 2013 Fortune interview conducted on his 75th birthday, he had estimated he might have only five more years to live and said that was why he would not launch any new long-term ventures.

" Turner told Fortune's Pattie Sellers. He explained that 75 was too late to begin projects that take many years to reach fruition. Turner outlived the deadline he set for himself by nearly a decade. During the additional years he continued to warn that humanity faced urgent risks from nuclear weapons, climate change and overpopulation.

Turner built the first 24-hour news network, pledged $1 billion to the United Nations Foundation, created an environmental cartoon called Captain Planet, and co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative. A decade after the 2013 interview, while sitting in his Atlanta office with a newly installed pacemaker, he maintained that the nuclear threat remained the most immediate.

"Fifty years aren’t up yet," he told Fortune. "I’d say that’s generally the case. " He advocated reducing world population from roughly 7 billion at the time to 2.5 billion through voluntary family planning. Turner said he had encouraged his five children and 13 grandchildren to have fewer children.

After watching his sister die at age 17, Turner moved away from the Christianity of his youth and described himself as agnostic at 75. He said he still offered what he called “mini-prayers” for sick friends and stated, “If God’s going to save us, it’s time for him to show up.

" In the same interview he assessed his media legacy. He said the company that had acquired his assets had been shortsighted in some decisions compared with a rival who retained sports and news properties. Turner added that the Cartoon Network often drew higher ratings than CNN because "we like to laugh" and that laughter reduces conflict.