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Turner hopes 'joy of giving' is contagious

Turner with Kofi Annan

Scrooge helped inspire him

September 19, 1997
Web posted at: 6:34 p.m. EDT (2234 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Ted Turner said Friday he was "trying to set a new standard for gallantry" with his pledge of $1 billion to support U.N. programs, and he vowed to call on other wealthy people around the world to realize "there is no greater joy in life than giving to worthwhile causes."

The CNN founder and Time Warner vice chairman told reporters in a conference call said that he, like Charles Dickens' fictional Ebenezer Scrooge, has learned about the "joy of giving." Pledging to give away a third of his net worth made him happier than ever before, he said.

Turner announced Thursday night that he would give $100 million in Time Warner stock each year over the next decade to a "United Nations Foundation" that he will create. The money will be used to support U.N. programs.

"I pledged to the U.N. that I'm going to try and raise additional funds from other sources as well, to get other wealthy individuals to contribute, because there's no reason why we can't raise lots of money... The world is just awash in money right because of the markets," Turner said.

"I just hope it gets contagious," he said.

Ted Turner, meet Tiny Tim

"The greatest book about giving that I've ever read is 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens, about Scrooge and how happy he was when he started doing things to help Tiny Tim's impoverished family," Turner said. "Remember? His whole attitude changed and he was happy."

"I've never been happier or more pleased with myself than I am today. (It's) the joy of giving," he said.

He insisted he did not expect any special influence with the United Nations because of the gift, and said he's not even sure if he will be chairman of his new foundation.

"I want a minimal amount of control," Turner said. The foundation will consult with the U.N. about how to spend the $100 million a year. "We anticipate it will spread over the wide range of programs.

"We can really make a real difference in the whole state and the future direction of the planet," he said. "That's the whole idea here."

Talking to reporters Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Turner's gift "is a wonderful gesture and I hope it is a sign of things to come. It shows his belief in the organization and international cooperation, and I hope it will inspire the governments to pay what they owe."

Fonda enthusiastic, Turner says

Turner said until now he has given only 10 percent of his income each year, mostly going to environmental causes, through the Turner Foundation. Those contributions will continue, but he has "just been learning how to give."

"It's like a relationship with your wife," he said. "It's something that you have to keep working on, because basically people love their money, just like they love their homes and they love their dogs ... It's hard for people to give lots of money away."

Turner said his wife, actress Jane Fonda, "thinks that this is terrific."

"I bounced the idea off of her and she broke out into tears," Turner said.

Turner said he didn't come up with the idea until Tuesday afternoon, when he was thinking about what he would say when he accepted a Global Leadership award from the United Nations Association-USA on Thursday night.

Still some details to be worked out

Details of the plan are still uncertain, since he did not give his financial advisers much warning.

He said he doesn't even know how much of a tax deduction he'll get for his donation.

"I'm not worried about that," he said. "I'll get whatever deductions I can, but this gift is so much more than my income, I'm not thinking about the tax deduction."

To fund the gift Turner is putting aside about one-third of his Time Warner stock, which is now valued at about $3.2 billion. That stock will not be transferred or sold, he said, but he will likely be used to borrow $100 million each year that would go to the U.N. foundation.

If the stock value falls, which he said was possible, the total contribution will be less than $1 billion. If the stock price rises, he would keep the gain.

Turner said he chose the United Nations for the donation because it is "the organization that has the most reach and the most influence and is doing the most good."

"It covers virtually the entire human condition, everything from land mines, nuclear weapons, environment, population, poverty, disease, inoculating children, saving the forests, stopping the development of Antarctica," he said.

Urging others to give

Turner said he will get names from Fortune and Forbes magazines' lists of the richest people in the world, then call on those people to follow his lead.

"I think there will be a lot of corporations that do business around the world, and individuals, who will see that this is a really good place to invest their money and making it a more secure and happier world," he said.

What will he tell the rich? "Keep all the money that you have any reasonable idea what to do with, and then give the money away that you have no idea what you're going to do with," he said. "Why not? What can you do with money you absolutely can't figure out what to do with?"

He said he believes the world is experiencing a "new dawn of an age of enlightenment, where war is becoming a thing of the past."

"Democracy and free enterprise are winning out all over the world," Turner said. "Things are really looking up."

 
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