Ted Turner, the 86-year-old media mogul who founded CNN more than four decades ago, was admitted into the hospital following a bout with pneumonia, according to a report.
Turner was said to be recovering at a rehabilitation center in Florida after a recent hospitalization for what was described as a “mild case of pneumonia,” one of his representatives told TMZ.
The cable news pioneer “expects a full recovery,” according to the representative.
In 2018, Turner revealed that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive neurological disorder caused by abnormal accumulation of protein which disrupts normal brain function.
“It’s a mild case of what people have as Alzheimer’s. It’s similar to that. But not nearly as bad. Alzheimer’s is fatal,” Turner told journalist Ted Koppel in an interview broadcast on “CBS Sunday Morning.”
“Thank goodness I don’t have that. But, I also have got, let’s — the one that’s — I can’t remember the name of it,” Turner said at the time.
“Dementia. I can’t remember what my disease is,” he added.
Asked what his symptoms are, Turner told Koppel, “Tired. Exhausted. That’s the main symptoms, and forgetfulness.”
Lewy body dementia affects an estimated 1.4 million Americans and symptoms can include problems with memory and changes in behavior, according to the Lewy Body Dementia Association.
An autopsy on comedian Robin Williams, who died by suicide in 2014, found that he had the disorder.
In 2021, Turner, who is also a bison rancher, donated an 80,000-acre ranch he owns in western Nebraska to his own environmental nonprofit — though he said he would continue to pay taxes on the land.
State officials had feared Turner — Nebraska’s largest landowner with nearly 500,000 acres of western Nebraska ranchland — might turn over the land to a nonprofit and remove vast tracts of land from property tax rolls.
Turner’s life’s work also includes founding TBS and Turner Broadcasting System, which included cable channels TNT, TBS and Cartoon Network. He also started up Turner Classic Movies.
The billionaire media mogul at one time also owned the Atlanta Braves baseball team and the Atlanta Hawks basketball team.
Turner was married to actress Jane Fonda between 1991 and 2001 before they divorced.
The Post has sought comment from Turner.
