NTI Statement on the Passing of Ted Turner

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our founding Co-Chair Ted Turner. Ted was an extraordinary philanthropist, conservationist, entrepreneur, friend, and colleague.

From launching a communications revolution with the founding of CNN to turning philanthropy on its head with his remarkable generosity, Ted changed the world through his creativity, vision, courage, passion, and heart.

Ted turned his attention to nuclear threats in 2000. He watched a report on 60 Minutes about the number of nuclear weapons still in global arsenals, more than a decade after the end of the Cold War. Alarmed, Ted reached out to Sam Nunn and Charlie Curtis, and the three leaders launched the Nuclear Threat Initiative in 2001. Over the last 25 years, NTI has worked tirelessly to prevent global catastrophe by reducing nuclear and biological threats.

“Just because something is hard is not a reason to sit on our hands and do nothing,” Ted said when NTI marked its 20th anniversary. “The bottom line is that we’ve got to start acting globally like civilized, educated, decent, kind-hearted human beings, and we have to trust each other. We can’t live in a world where nobody trusts anybody because then we’ll never make progress with these weapons or with anything else.”

We wholeheartedly agree and are grateful that Ted’s family, including his daughter, Laura Turner-Seydel who serves as an emeritus NTI board member, continues his legacy working for a safer world.

Ted’s optimism, determination, and energy will be deeply missed at NTI, but his memory will continue to inspire us all.