Jane Fonda Left Out of Ted Turner's Will as His Five Children Inherit the Fortune
(Illustration: USA Current Affaires)
Jane Fonda called Ted Turner her "favourite ex-husband." She praised him for decades after their divorce, and paid him a moving tribute when he died. But when the CNN founder's final will was filed, her name was nowhere in it.
Turner's five children — Laura, Robert, Rhett, Reed and Sara — have filed a petition to be named executors of their late father's estate, and they are the only heirs listed in the filing, TMZ reported on Thursday, November 12. Fonda, who was married to Turner from 1991 to 2001, is not named as a beneficiary of the fortune, reported to be worth around $2.5 billion.
The news landed six months after Turner's death on May 6, 2026, at the age of 87. It is not a story of a family feud — there is no suggestion in the filing that Fonda expected to inherit, or that her absence reflects any conflict. But it is a striking final note on one of Hollywood's most famous marriages, and on a friendship that survived the divorce for a quarter of a century.
A Marriage That Ended, a Friendship That Did Not
Fonda, 88, was Turner's third wife. The filing notes that he was married three times: he divorced his first wife, Judy Nye, in 1964, and his second wife, Jane Turner, in 1988, before marrying Fonda in 1991. The couple had no children together; Laura and Robert are from his first marriage, while Rhett, Reed and Sara are from his second.
The marriage ended in 2001, when Fonda filed for divorce saying it was "irretrievably broken." A Georgia judge granted the divorce on May 22 of that year. Turner later said part of the breakdown was Fonda's decision to become a Christian, something he admitted had surprised him. Yet the affection between them never faded. Fonda spoke warmly about Turner for years afterwards, called him her favourite ex-husband, and praised him again when he died.
"Ted Turner helped me believe in myself," Fonda wrote in her tribute after his death, adding: "Ted's not here, but he is here in my heart and I know he is here in a lot of our hearts." The warmth of those words is exactly why her absence from the will has drawn so much attention — not because anyone expected her to inherit, but because the two remained so closely associated long after the marriage ended.
Two Decades of Estate Planning
The filing also reveals just how carefully — and how often — Turner revisited his estate plans. He first created his trust in 2003, at the age of 64, two years after the divorce from Fonda. He then amended it in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009, and again almost every year from 2011 onwards, with his final amendment made in 2025, one year before his death.
Across more than two decades and at least 18 revisions, Fonda was never added. The will directs his heirs to settle all of his debts and manage the various aspects of his businesses, with Turner writing: "I have confidence in the investments which will be found in my estate at the time of my death." His children are also permitted to liquidate assets if necessary.
The petition now before the court asks for all five children to serve as executors of the estate. As the only listed heirs, they will divide a fortune built from CNN, Turner Classic Movies, major sports holdings and a media empire that reshaped American television.
What It Means
In the end, the filing tells a simpler story than the headlines suggest. Turner structured his estate around his children — as he had done since the trust was first drawn up in 2003 — and Fonda, for all the warmth between them, was never part of that plan. She built her own fortune and her own second act as an activist and actor, and she has said nothing publicly about the filing.
For fans of both stars, the news is less about money than about memory: a reminder of a marriage that once joined Hollywood royalty to a media mogul, and of a friendship that outlasted it by 25 years. The will may not mention Jane Fonda — but the tributes she paid him suggest she never needed it to.
Family and legacy have been running through Hollywood's biggest stories this week: Johnny Depp reflected on how fatherhood gave his life purpose in a candid CBS Mornings interview, and Olivia Williams gave one of the most honest interviews of the year.
Do you think Jane Fonda should have been included in Ted Turner's will? Let us know in the comments.
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