Ted Turner's $1 billion UN gift takes center stage at New York farewell

Ted Turner's send-off happened Monday inside the UN Economic and Social Council chamber in New York, where several hundred guests — diplomats, UN staff, philanthropists and CNN colleagues — celebrated the life of the network's founder. His daughter, Laura Turner Seydel, carried his ashes and sprinkled them in the places he loved; some settled on the chamber floor. Turner died in May at 87 from the effects of Lewy body dementia, which he was diagnosed with in 2013, Seydel said.

Seydel traced his defining gift back to a Mississippi washerwoman who gave her $150,000 life savings for college scholarships. Inspired, Turner told his daughter he'd have to do something bigger — and a month later, in September 1997, he shocked a UN gala dinner after accepting a Global Leadership Award by announcing $1 billion for UN causes, then the largest individual donation in history. The money launched the UN Foundation, since supplemented by another $3 billion in matching donations, according to Seydel.

In video tributes, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Turner 'a one-of-a-kind visionary' whose push for peace, health, the environment and disarmament widened the UN's reach. Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Turner 'changed the trajectory of countries and lives around the world,' and argued that with multilateralism under strain, his causes matter more than ever.

CNN's biggest names also weighed in. Wolf Blitzer, hired by Turner in 1990, said he never forgot the boss's belief that shared global news might make the world more peaceful. Christiane Amanpour credited his 'total dedication to a global community,' while Nobel laureate and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, a former CNN reporter, called herself 'Ted's ripple.'

Three of Turner's 14 grandchildren shared memories, with Vasser Seydel calling him an idol who pushed 'the limits of what is possible in a human lifetime.' The two-hour event mixed music — John Carter Cash and Ana Cristina Cash sang 'Jackson,' and the Harlem Gospel Choir performed. Former Atlanta mayor and UN ambassador Andrew Young, who was with Martin Luther King Jr. when he was assassinated, said Turner 'looked beyond race' and, in the event's only political remarks, credited him with influence in last week's election: 'you ain't seen nothing yet.'