Media mogul and CNN founder Ted Turner, who died on May 6, 2026, at the age of 87, left his “beloved ex-wife” Jane Fonda out of his inheritance. According to court documents reviewed by TMZ, the final will does not include any of the billionaire’s three ex-wives—not Judy Nye, not Jane Smith, not Hollywood legend Jane Fonda. The sole beneficiaries of his estate are his five children from his first two marriages: Laura, Robert, Rhett, Reed, and Sarah. They also filed a petition to appoint themselves as executors.
A drama worth billions
The press regarded Fonda’s absence from the documents as an unexpected turn of events: after the divorce in 2001, the couple maintained a warm relationship, and the actress called Turner “her beloved ex-husband” and dedicated a touching post to him after his death.
However, the tabloids also have a rational explanation: the ex-spouses closed their property issues during the divorce. According to Page Six and IBTimes UK, the actress then received about $40 million in cash, a stake in Time Warner—about 770,000 shares worth approximately $70 million—and a 2,500-acre ranch in New Mexico. In total, business media estimate the severance pay exceeded $100 million. As for her feelings, they can’t be written into a will, but Fonda didn’t hide them even decades later.
The Ten-Year Work of a Will
The document, as it turns out, was created leisurely: Turner drew up her first trust in 2003, at the age of 64—two years after her divorce from Fonda. Amendments followed almost annually: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, and then every year from 2013 to 2024. The tycoon approved the final version in 2025, a year before his death. In the text, he instructed his children to pay off debts, manage financial affairs, and, if necessary, sell some assets, although he expressed confidence in the reliability of his investments.
Where Fortune Goes
Turner’s fortune at the time of his death, according to estimates by Forbes and USA Today, reached 2.5-2.8 billion dollars, and he was also listed among the largest private landowners in the United States – about 2 million acres in America and Argentina. A significant portion of the assets has already been structured through family foundations and environmental organizations like the Turner Foundation: they are now managed by the heirs, continuing their father’s work – nature conservation and charity.
