Media pioneer Ted Turner, whose death was reported by CNN on Wednesday, built a reputation for bold statements that earned him the moniker “The Mouth of the South.” The outspoken businessman left behind a collection of memorable quotes that captured his unconventional approach to life and business.
Turner was known for his self-deprecating humor, once declaring, “If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect.”
His patriotic yet critical view of America came through in contrasting statements: “This is America. You can do anything here,” he said, while also noting, “The United States has got some of the dumbest people in the world.”
When launching CNN, Turner made a bold promise about the network’s commitment: “We won’t be signing off until the world ends. We’ll be on and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event.”
During his CNN years, Turner expressed conflicted feelings about profiting from conflict coverage: “War has been good to me from a financial standpoint but I don’t want to make money that way. I don’t want blood money.”
The media mogul had a unique perspective on wealth, stating, “Life is a game. Money is how we keep score.” He also spoke about his philanthropy: “Over a three-year period, I gave away half of what I had. To be honest, my hands shook as I signed it away.”
Turner wasn’t afraid to admit his mistakes, particularly regarding controversial religious comments: “That was probably my most unfortunate comment. I apologized for it. I apologized for a lot of things that I’ve said,” he said after calling Christianity a “religion for losers.”
His views on gender and leadership were equally provocative: “Men should be barred from public office for 100 years in every part of the world… It would be a much kinder, gentler, more intelligently run world. The men have had millions of years where we’ve been running things. We’ve screwed it up hopelessly. Let’s give it to the women.”
Even in considering his own mortality, Turner maintained his characteristic wit: “I know what I’m having ’em put on my tombstone: ‘I have nothing more to say.’”
