Honestly, if you haven't checked in on Ted Turner since the nineties, you’d probably expect him to be sitting in a high-rise office in Atlanta, barkin' orders at CNN executives. But that world is long gone. These days, when you ask what does Ted Turner own, the answer has almost nothing to do with "breaking news" and everything to do with the actual, physical ground beneath our feet.
Ted Turner doesn’t own CNN anymore. He doesn't own TBS, TNT, or the Atlanta Braves either. He sold his media empire to Time Warner back in 1996 for $7.3 billion, a move he famously called one of the biggest mistakes of his life after the disastrous AOL merger ate a huge chunk of his net worth.
So, what’s left? A lot. About 2 million acres of land, for starters.
While the "Mouth of the South" has stepped back from the spotlight—partly due to his 2018 announcement that he’s living with Lewy body dementia—his portfolio is still massive. It’s just... greener. He’s essentially traded the airwaves for the open range, becoming one of the largest private landowners in North America.
The Massive Land Portfolio: America’s Second Largest Landowner
For a long time, Ted was the king of the hill, the number one private landowner in the U.S. He’s since been nudged down to the number three spot by John Malone and the Emmerson family, but we’re still talking about an astronomical amount of dirt.
To put it simply, if you took all of Ted Turner’s land and put it in one place, it would be larger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
The Crown Jewel: Vermejo Park Ranch
Located in northern New Mexico and spilling over into Colorado, Vermejo Park Ranch is the heavy hitter in his collection. It spans roughly 560,000 acres. That is one single, contiguous piece of property. It’s bigger than most national parks.
It’s not just sitting there, though. Turner has turned it into a "private national park" where he’s obsessed with restoring native species. We're talking about Rio Grande cutthroat trout, black-footed ferrets, and Bolson tortoises. He even has a luxury travel arm called Ted Turner Reserves that lets people stay on the property, but they keep the guest count super low—usually around 70 people at a time—to keep the "human pressure" off the ecosystem.
Other Major Holdings
- Flying D Ranch (Montana): About 113,000 acres near Bozeman. This is where a huge chunk of his bison herd lives.
- Armendaris Ranch (New Mexico): 360,000 acres of Chihuahuan desert. It’s famous for the Jornada Bat Caves, where millions of Mexican free-tailed bats live.
- Ladder Ranch (New Mexico): 156,000 acres. This was basically his personal playground and a hub for his conservation biology team.
- Blue Creek & Spikebox (Nebraska): These are massive Sandhills ranches primarily used for bison production.
- Avalon Plantation (Florida): A 30,000-acre estate where he married Jane Fonda.
The Bison King: A For-Profit Conservation Model
You can't talk about what Ted Turner owns without talking about bison. He owns roughly 45,000 bison. That is the largest private herd in the world.
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Back in the day, bison were almost extinct. Turner decided he wanted to save them, but he didn't want to just keep them as pets. He believed that for a species to truly survive, it had to have economic value. That led to the creation of Ted’s Montana Grill.
Ted’s Montana Grill
Launched in 2002 with restaurateur George McKerrow, this isn't just a side project. There are currently about 40 locations across 16 states. The menu is built around bison meat.
The logic is kinda blunt: If people eat bison, ranchers will raise bison. If ranchers raise bison, the species won't go extinct. It worked. The demand created by his restaurants and other commercial outlets has been a huge factor in the recovery of the American bison.
Energy and Philanthropy: The Turner Enterprises Umbrella
Beyond the dirt and the buffalo, Turner is still a businessman, just a very "green" one.
Turner Renewable Energy is his vehicle for solar investments. He’s partnered with companies like Southern Company to develop massive solar arrays, including the 20-megawatt Murphy Solar Farm in Florida and projects in New Mexico. He’s been very vocal about the fact that "the sun is the only nuclear reactor we need."
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The Foundations
While he doesn't "own" these in a profit sense, they are where a lot of his wealth is parked.
- United Nations Foundation: He famously pledged $1 billion to the UN in 1997. He finished paying that off years ago.
- Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI): A non-partisan group he co-founded to reduce the risk of nuclear and biological attacks.
- Turner Foundation: This is the family-run charity focused on environmental issues.
Does he still have any media ties?
Not really. Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) is now a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. He has no voting power or executive role there. He’s essentially a retired founder with a very large legacy.
He did keep a few interesting bits and pieces over the years, like a few properties in Argentina and some smaller investments, but the media mogul chapter of his life is functionally closed.
What This Means for You (The Takeaway)
When you look at the list of what Ted Turner owns, it’s actually a blueprint for a specific kind of legacy. He’s moved from "virtual assets" (television signals) to "hard assets" (land and water).
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- Diversification into Land: Turner saw early on that while stocks can crash (as his Time Warner stock did), land is finite.
- The Power of Niche: He didn't just buy "farms"; he bought specific ecosystems to control the conservation narrative.
- Business as Conservation: He proved that you can save a species by making it a viable commodity through things like Ted’s Montana Grill.
If you’re looking to visit one of these spots, look into Ted Turner Reserves. It’s the only way most "normals" get to see the inside of these properties without being a personal friend of the family. Just be ready for the price tag—it’s "luxury conservation," so it isn't exactly a budget camping trip.
The real lesson here? Ted Turner spent the first half of his life building a world that lived in our living rooms, and he’s spending the last part of it trying to make sure the actual world stays intact for the next generation.
Next Steps for You:
If you're interested in land as an investment or conservation, look into the Land Report 100. It's the definitive annual list that tracks these holdings. Also, if you’re ever near a Ted’s Montana Grill, try the bison burger—it’s literally the reason those 45,000 animals are roaming around New Mexico today.