OK! Reveals How Ted Turner's 5 Kids Will Carry on His Legacy — Amid Claims They Have Been Effectively 'Cut Out of' Billionaire's Will

OK! can reveal Ted Turner's five children are preparing to carry on the billionaire broadcaster's environmental legacy after the CNN founder's death at 87, with his family's decades-long conservation work thrust back into the spotlight after it was revealed they have been effectively "cut out" of his will.

Turner, who died on May 6, built a media empire through CNN and Turner Broadcasting System while becoming one of America's most prominent environmental philanthropists.

Away from the corporate spotlight, the mogul raised his children – Laura, Teddy, Rhett, Beau and Jennie – with a strong emphasis on conservation, wildlife protection and public service.

Over the years, each of his kids became involved in environmental causes, charitable foundations, or media projects connected to sustainability and nature preservation.

Laura Turner Seydel, Ted's eldest daughter with his first wife, Julia Gale Nye, said her father used his influence to educate people about the planet's fragility.

Speaking to ELYSIAN Magazine, she said: "My dad was seeing these big gaps and opportunities. He used his media platforms to educate others, to make them understand how amazing nature is. He wanted to connect their hearts with the idea of preserving our wildlife. He also wanted to show the world what happens when you do not take care of our planet."

She added: "I think a natural evolution for me was to be concerned with what was happening to our environment… my dad showed me that by taking action, and putting your passion to work, you can actually solve problems."

Seydel later worked with Greenpeace and founded environmental organizations, including Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and Mothers & Others For Clean Air.

Speaking in 2021, she said: "Taking care of the environment is in my DNA. We composted, weeded the yard instead of using chemicals, and my dad took us around our neighborhood to pick up trash. We learned from him that you take action. You don't let other people do the work for you."

Ted Turner Jr., known as Teddy, pursued careers in television, sailing and education after studying at The Citadel in South Carolina. Despite growing up in one of America's wealthiest families, Teddy insisted his upbringing was strict.

He said in 2013: "People think I grew up very wealthy. I didn't. Growing up, it was very austere. I didn't have a bike or a stereo. My dad drove an economy car, a Datsun V210. On the day I finished college, he gave me two weeks to get my things out of his house. He taught us independence."

Teddy later worked at CNN's Moscow bureau before becoming a sailing executive and teacher. During a failed Republican congressional campaign in 2013, he said: "No matter what I do, I'll never escape being Ted's son – and I wouldn't want to. But I'm me. I'm very different from my father."

Rhett Turner, Ted's eldest son with second wife Jane Shirley Smith, developed careers in photography, documentary filmmaking and conservation.

Reflecting on his upbringing, he said: "My dad's idea was do summer jobs, get your hands dirty and learn a good day of work for a good day of pay."

In 2023, Rhett explained why he rushed to complete a photography book documenting Turner family landholdings while his father's health declined.

He told SaportaReport: "The reason to do the book was that my dad has amassed a large amount of land. It needed to be documented so that people would understand what his goals were and the reasons that he did it – to help manage the land as best you can with the possibility of perpetuity."

Beau Turner, Ted's younger son, also devoted himself to conservation and wildlife education. He told Channel Guide magazine in 2011: "When we were kids, dad introduced us to nature and taught us the importance of protecting our environment. I feel it's my responsibility to share that gift with the next generation."

Jennie Turner Garlington, Ted's youngest child, described a childhood shaped by sailing trips, baseball games and outdoor adventures. She told the magazine: "We wore hand-me-downs and we carpooled to school with the neighborhood kids. My dad drove this little Toyota and we all crammed in. Our parents were very involved in our childhood. Dad's high profile just seemed kind of normal."

Sources told OK! most of Turner's $2.6 billion fortune is going to charities – and not his brood, though one insider said they would be left "comfortable" from their inheritances.