Back in 1997, when American media mogul Ted Turner announced he would donate one billion dollars to the United Nations over ten years, many people thought he was all talk. After all, the owner of Atlanta-based CNN was so well known for his boasts that he had been nick-named“The Mouth of the South”.

　　But the following year. Turner started to make good on his commitment, h

anding over US$100 million a year to support a wide range of programs including fighting polio and AIDS. It was the largest charitable gift in history, but Turner figured he could afford it. After all, by 1999 he was worth over US$8 billion, with most of his money in stock of AOL Time Warner, the company that had bought him out years before.

　　But then the stock market crashed, wiping out over 80% of his wealth and leaving him with only US$1.6 billion left.

　　“I went from no money to a pile of money as big as the world Trade Center,”he said.“And then, just like the world Trade Center, poof—it was gone overnight. That’s terrible.”

　　At the time, many doubted he could afford to pay off the remaining US$500 million he owed the U.N. But Turner, who has admired the United Nations since he was a boy, says he intends to keep his word. However, instead of ten years, he says he now has to spread the gift over 15 years. Better late than never.