Ted Turner honored at United Nations celebration for $1 billion donation

Ted Turner died in May at age 87 from Lewy body dementia, an incurable disease diagnosed in 2013. His daughter Laura Turner Seydel said she spread some of his ashes at the U.N. Economic and Social Council chamber, where his life was celebrated on Monday.

Decades ago, Turner heard about a washerwoman in Mississippi who donated her life savings of $150,000 for college scholarships. Inspired by that act, he announced a $1 billion gift to U.N. causes in September 1997 after receiving a Global Leadership Award.

“Please use your ideas, resources and ambitions to back the institutions that hold the world together.”

The donation was the largest individual gift in history at that time and launched the United Nations Foundation. Since then, another $3 billion has been donated to match Turner's original gift, according to Seydel.

Seydel urged several hundred attendees to honor her father by supporting institutions that hold the world together. She recalled that Turner spoke with everyone from the secretary-general and ambassadors to security guards and cleaners.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Turner a one-of-a-kind visionary in a video tribute. Foundation President Elizabeth Cousens said the audience included diplomats, U.N. staff, philanthropists, CNN staffers, and members of civil society, academia, and the private sector.