THE EXPLORERS CLUB HONORS TED TURNER AT NEW YORK MEMORIAL TRIBUTE
For Immediate Release
NEW YORK, NY — June 11, 2026 — The Explorers Club hosted A Hero’s Celebration: The Life and Legacy of Ted Turner, a memorial honoring the life of Robert Edward “Ted” Turner III, who died May 6, 2026, at age 87. Held at the Club’s landmark headquarters at 46 East 70th Street, the tribute opened with a 6:00 PM reception followed by a 7:00 PM program, bringing together friends and admirers from the worlds of media, finance, diplomacy, and conservation to share remembrances of a man whose work reshaped global communication, dispute resolution, disarmament, and environmental philanthropy.
The evening was Chaired by AIAC Chairman, L. M. Levie, who serves as an Explorers Club Trustee and its Poet Laureate. Co-Chairs included Richard Wiese, Explorers Club President Emeritus, and John Linnartz, Member of the New York Yacht Club. The formal program opened with an introduction by Richard Wiese, followed by remarks by Barbara Doran, President of the New York Yacht Club, and personal reminiscences and insights of the following distinguished individuals, appearing in person or on video:
Sir Richard Branson — British entrepreneur, Founder of the Virgin Group and Virgin Galactic, noted Explorers Club honoree and member.
Sir Howard Stringer — Welsh-American media executive, former Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation and President of CBS.
Lyndsay Howard — Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to Mike Bloomberg and former Senior Advisor to Dr. Henry Kissinger
Diane Brady — Executive Editorial Director of Fortune, formerly with Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, the Wall Street Journal and McKinsey
Rita E. Hauser —U.S. Representative to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, Chair of the International Peace Institute, Board Member of the RAND Corporation, Founder of the Hauser Foundation and of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University
Senator Sam Nunn — Former Senator from Georgia and Co-Founder with Ted Turner of the Nuclear Threat Initiative
Michael Douglas — Academy Award–winning actor and producer and a United Nations Messenger of Peace dedicated to nuclear disarmament.
Tom Johnson — President of CNN for 20 years and former publisher of the Los Angeles Times.
Pat Mitchell — CEO of PBS and CNN Productions, and the Paley Media Center
Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt IV — Managing Director of Barclays, prominent conservationist, and a great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Mikkel Vestergaard — Danish humanitarian entrepreneur and creator of the LifeStraw water filter and the PermaNet insecticide-treated bed net, which have protected more than 1.5 billion people and are credited with helping save over 11.7 million lives from malaria.
Michael Peterson — Chief Executive Officer of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and chair of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Trustee of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the nuclear-security organization co-founded by Ted Turner and Senator Sam Nunn.
Jonathan Granoff — President of the Global Security Institute, international lawyer, and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. A leading advocate for nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, he represents the World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates.
Julian Fisher — member of the New York and Seawanhaka Yacht Clubs.
Gary Jobson — America’s Cup Hall of Fame sailor, author, and longtime television commentator on the sport. He served in the afterguard aboard Ted Turner’s Courageous in its 1977 America’s Cup victory.
In keeping with The Explorers Club’s tradition, speakers offered a toast, downed a shot glass of whiskey or rum, and then hurled the empty shot glass into the club’s massive, 15th century lit fireplace adorned with a mantle-mounted statue of Joan of Arc, with sparks and flames flaring.
Richard Wiese then shared reflections from Ted Turner’s long-time partner, noted environmentalist, Explorers Club member and Chair of its Conservation Committee, Sally Ann Ranney.
A special musical work, The Call of Ted Turner, was then presented which traced the arc of Turner’s life, and was met with a sustained standing ovation. L. M. Levie composed its lyrics, music and orchestration, and AIAC Vice President Isabel C. Carro Toro produced the graphics and videography. The video may be viewed here:
The formal program concluded with an eight-bell salute to Ted Turner, a series of additional toasts made by the assembled guests, and a post-program reception. L. M. Levie offered a tour of the Explorer’s Club headquarters to distinguished guests, including Laura Elizabeth Seydel, granddaughter of Ted Turner. Earlier in the evening, Mr. Levie greeted Dr. John Hardman, former President and CEO of the Carter Center and John Hardman Jr.
L. M. Levie, AIAC Chairman, and Trustee of The Explorers Club and of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, and Member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club and the Hyannis Yacht Club, issued the following statement:
“ I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped us honor Ted Turner, a man of monumental compassion, courage, and conviction, who touched the lives of billions. I am deeply grateful to my dear friends, Richard Wiese, John Linnartz, Diane Brady, and Lyndsay Howard for their tireless preparation and their warmth, eloquence, and grace throughout the evening. I offer my sincere appreciation, as well, to Sally Ann Ranney, Sir Richard Branson, Sir Howard Stringer, Senator Sam Nunn, Rita Hauser, Michael Douglas, Tom Johnson, Pat Mitchell, Theodore Roosevelt IV, Michael Peterson, Jonathan Granoff, Gary Jobson, and Mikkel Vestergaard, for their profoundly touching reflections. Finally, I owe special thanks to Isabel Carro-Toro, Alexia Borden, and Bill Liss, for their indefatigable energy, creativity, and drive, and to Kevin Murphy, Felix Freeland, Luis Muga, and the dedicated officers and staff of The Explorers Club for assistance and support.
Ted was an explorer in the truest sense — a pioneer of media, a champion of the oceans and the prairies, and a tireless advocate for a more peaceful and healthy world. To gather in his honor, surrounded by people who loved and admired him, was a fitting tribute to an extraordinary man.
When I set out to distill the life of Ted Turner into verse and music, I found it both a challenge and a wondrous puzzle — how to gather into a few measures a man who lived so many lives, who reached for the stars and the depths of the sea alike, and who loved this world so boldly. I cannot claim to have captured all of him; no song could. But if, in the end, this musical homage has shed even a little light on Ted's life and legacy for those who knew and loved him, then I am deeply content. And if this musical work has conveyed Ted’s enthusiasm and mission to those who did not know him, then I am overjoyed.
To everyone who participated, contributed, and attended: Thank You. You made this celebration of Ted’s life everything we hoped it would be –enlightening, uplifting, inspirational, and hopeful.”
About Ted Turner
Robert Edward “Ted” Turner III (November 19, 1938 – May 6, 2026) was an American businessman, television producer, and philanthropist who built one of the most influential media empires in modern history. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Savannah, Georgia, he took over his father’s Atlanta billboard company, Turner Outdoor Advertising, in 1963 at age 24, then transformed it into a broadcasting enterprise.
Turner’s purchase of a struggling Atlanta UHF station in 1970 became the foundation of the Turner Broadcasting System. He used satellite distribution to turn that station into WTBS, pioneering the cable “superstation” concept, and in 1980 launched CNN, the first 24-hour cable news network. He went on to create Turner Network Television (TNT), Turner Classic Movies (TCM), and Cartoon Network, and acquired the MGM film library that anchored much of his programming. His company merged with Time Warner in 1996.
Beyond media, Turner was an internationally recognized yachtsman who won the America’s Cup in 1977 as skipper of Courageous and was later inducted into both the America’s Cup Hall of Fame and the National Sailing Hall of Fame. He owned the Atlanta Braves — World Series champions in 1995 — as well as the Atlanta Hawks, and founded the Goodwill Games to ease Cold War tensions.
As a philanthropist, Turner pledged $1 billion to create the United Nations Foundation and served as chairman of its board, and in 2001 he co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative with former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn to reduce the dangers posed by nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. He funded efforts that reduced the global scourge of malaria. One of the largest private landowners in the United States, he devoted much of his land to conservation and to restoring the American bison, building the largest private bison herd in the world. A recipient of the Explorers Club Medal — the Club’s highest honor — he is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of media and philanthropy.
About The Explorers Club
The Explorers Club is an American-based, international, multidisciplinary professional society with the mission of promoting and supporting scientific exploration and field study on land, sea, and in outer space. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for explorers and scientists worldwide. Members of the club have been the first to explore the North Pole, South Pole, Mount Everest, the Mariana Trench, and to walk on the Moon. The club’s notable current members or honorees include Buzz Aldrin, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, Grand Duke Guillaume V of Luxembourg, Sir Richard Branson, Ken Griffin, James Cameron, Ray Dalio, and Wendy Schmidt.
In years past, prominent members have included Sir Ernest Shackleton, President Theodore Roosevelt, Sir Edmund Hillary, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Jim Lovell, Thor Heyerdahl, Walter Cronkite, Prince Philip – Duke of Edinburgh, and Jane Goodall. The Explorers Club’s historic clubhouse, at 46 East 70th Street in New York City, is a museum and monument to the “Famous Firsts,” the greatest explorers and expeditions of all time.
For further information, see: http://www.explorers.org
About American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) is a diversified industrial group with manufacturing, distribution, and administrative sites in 24 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia-New Zealand. AIAC has acquired and grown non-core subsidiaries and divisions of Boeing, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Johnson Controls, Merck, Pfizer, Astellas, Visteon, Carlyle, KKR, Ahlstrom, Novellis, Tolko, Groupe Suez, Groupe Rexel, and many other leading multinational corporations.
AIAC companies serve companies and governmental entities worldwide in all major sectors, including aviation, space, defense, automotive, truck, rail, marine, petrochemical, solar, nuclear, civil engineering, logistics, agriculture, infrastructure, commercial construction, mining, dredging, disaster relief, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, AIAC companies are exclusive, authorized distributors of leading branded industrial products and serve as critical suppliers for the construction of major airports, schools, hospitals, performing arts and sports centers, offices and hotels throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. AIAC is a major manufacturer of materials for green houses globally, building, street, and highway signage in Europe, and a distributor of electrical products throughout France.
Of note, AIAC purchased Boeing Canada in 2005 and has produced over 10,000 unique components for every Boeing jet plane ever since, reliably serving Boeing from manufacturing facilities in North America. A leader in ultra-high precision jet engine component manufacturing, AIAC companies produce 2,200 fan blades for each jet engine produced by GE, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, and Honeywell.
AIAC companies actively support exploration into outer space, manufacturing critical components for launching and propelling spacecraft and satellites. AIAC customers in this sector include NASA, SpaceX, the European Space Agency, Blue Origin, and Boeing. AIAC companies also lead in the design and manufacture of undersea umbilical cables for worldwide oceanographic research.
AIAC companies produce the critical automotive wire and cable for Tesla, GM, Ford, Chrysler-Fiat, Toyota, and Nissan and for the New York and Atlanta Subways. In connection with its kraft paper manufacturing interests in Canada and the US, AIAC sustainably manages 22 million acres of Manitoba, Canada forestland, an area equivalent in size to the nation of Hungary. AIAC affiliate, Metallwarenfabrik Gemmingen GmbH, located in Germany, designs, manufactures and distributes high performance, emergency portable power generators utilized in global conflict zones and during major natural disasters.
For further information, see: www.aiac.com
AIAC Philanthropy
AIAC and the AIAC Foundation support a wide range of nonprofit, nonsectarian, bipartisan organizations which promote international conflict resolution, disaster relief, economic development, environmental sustainability, exploration, and the performing arts. The exploration-focused nonprofit organizations which they actively support include The Explorers Club, the National Geographic Society, the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Mission Blue, the Jane Goodall Institute, the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Space Society, and the United States Space Foundation.
AIAC Chairman L. M. Levie is a Trustee and Poet Laureate of The Explorers Club, a Trustee of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He is Chairman of the Seabed Curtain Project, an initiative working to address rising global sea levels. AIAC and its affiliates — Bradford Space, Canadian Kraft Paper Industries, SuperAlloy Manufacturing Solutions, and Champlain Cable — are Partners of The Explorers Club, World Oceans Week, Climate Week, and the Explorers Club Annual Dinner.
For further information, see: www.aiac.com | https://www.aiac.com/our-values
Media Contact:
Isabel Carro-Toro, Vice President
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
+34 689 295 827 (Spain)
+1 787 244 3175 (USA)
icarro-toro@aiac.com