Ted Turner died at 87, and obituaries celebrate how he built his empire. He took an indebted billboard company into a UHF station, then into the Atlanta Braves for $10 to $12 million. Then into a satellite superstation, then into Hanna-Barbera for $320 million, and finally into CNN. The crown jewel is now part of ... Ted Turner Built CNN on Debt and Near-Bankruptcy. Here Is Why You Should Not Try to Copy Him