Ted Turner, former Chairman of Turner Enterprises, discussed his life and career with David Letterman. He reflected on his early business ventures, including buying a station in Atlanta and celebrating being the last station standing. He expressed mixed satisfaction with CNN, noting he would run it differently. Turner talked about his sailing career, including winning the America's Cup in 1977 and surviving a storm near Cape Hatteras. He detailed his efforts to end the Cold War by befriending leaders of communist countries, including Fidel Castro, and funding the Goodwill Games at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. He also recounted a promotional stunt with the Atlanta Braves where he pushed a baseball with his nose. On the economy, he predicted a long downturn, advocated for lifestyle changes, and criticized consumer debt.
| Figure | What it refers to | Type | At |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 trophies | Approximate number of sailing trophies won | metric | 4:20 |
| 1980 | Year he stopped sailing when CNN started | timeline | 3:34 |
| 70 years | His age at the time of the interview | metric | 0:00 |
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Sign in to read the full transcriptTurner, T. (2026, May 6). Ted Turner on CNN, Fidel Castro, The Cold War And More | David Letterman [Interview transcript]. Letterman. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/888159/
Ted Turner. "Ted Turner on CNN, Fidel Castro, The Cold War And More | David Letterman." Letterman, 6 May. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/888159/.
@misc{turner2026_888159,
author = {Ted Turner},
title = {Ted Turner on CNN, Fidel Castro, The Cold War And More | David Letterman},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Letterman. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {may},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/888159/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}