The Ted Turner house on St. Phillips Island is unlike almost any other property tied to a media billionaire. There’s no gate, no driveway, and no address a car could reach — the only way in is by boat. Ted Turner bought the entire 4,680-acre barrier island off Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1979 and built a modest 3,350-square-foot beach house there soon after.
For nearly 40 years it served as his family’s private coastal escape. In 2017, the State of South Carolina purchased the island, and today the Ted Turner house is occasionally open to overnight guests and day-trip visitors.
Ted Turner Property Specifications
Ted Turner House Location
St. Phillips Island sits in the Lowcountry off Beaufort, South Carolina, right next to Hunting Island State Park. It’s a true barrier island — undeveloped, boat-access only, and largely left in its natural state by design. Turner purchased the island specifically to protect it from development, and that mission shaped everything about how the property was used. Since 2017, the island has been managed by South Carolina State Parks alongside Hunting Island, making it one of the only celebrity-owned properties in the country that transitioned directly into public conservation land.
- Address: St. Phillips Island, 2555 Sea Island Pkwy, Hunting Island, SC 29920.
- Access: boat transportation only, scheduled through the park reservation desk.
- Why Turner chose it: total privacy, an untouched barrier island ecosystem, and proximity to the Atlantic coastline he wanted to conserve.
Ted Turner House Photos
Ted Turner House Exterior Tour
Every piece of lumber, glass, and fixture used to build the house had to arrive by boat, which shaped a design built for simplicity over spectacle. The result is a rustic, weather-resistant beach house that blends into the maritime forest rather than standing out from it.
The standout exterior feature of Turner home is an 820-square-foot screened porch and deck, wrapping around the house with panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean. Outdoor amenities include a private boat dock, a fishing pier, and a fire pit for evenings on the island.
There’s no pool, no tennis court, and no formal landscaping — the surrounding maritime forest and beach dunes were left exactly as they were before construction.
Ted Turner House Interior Tour
Living Room
The main floor centers around an open living room designed for gathering rather than formality. It connects directly to the kitchen, bar, and screened porch, keeping the layout casual and beach-house practical rather than polished or ornate.
Bedrooms
The house sleeps up to 10 guests across five bedrooms. The downstairs master suite includes a king bed and its own en-suite bathroom. Upstairs, four additional bedrooms offer a mix of queen and twin beds, giving the layout enough separation and flexibility for a full family group or multiple couples.
Bathrooms
Five bathrooms serve the house in total — the downstairs master en-suite, plus three bathrooms upstairs and one additional bathroom on the main floor for guests, similar to Billie Eilish property.
Kitchen and Bar
The main floor includes a full kitchen alongside a dedicated bar area, built for hosting family and guests after a day on the water. Both spaces open onto the main living area, keeping the downstairs feeling connected rather than closed off room by room.
Dining Room and Game Room
A convertible dining room doubles as a game room, complete with a pool table. This flexible space reflects the house’s overall purpose: a retreat built for relaxed, multi-generational stays rather than formal entertaining.
Den
A den rounds out the main floor, offering a quieter indoor space separate from the open living and dining areas. It includes an indoor fireplace, giving the house a cozy option during cooler Lowcountry evenings.
Porch & Ocean Views
The home features a spacious 820-square-foot screened porch and deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It is a perfect place to relax at any time of day. Enjoy fresh ocean breezes without worrying about insects. The wide-open views create a peaceful setting for morning coffee, outdoor meals, or watching colorful sunsets over the water.
Ted Turner House Amenities
The property leans into its coastal, conservation-minded setting rather than typical luxury features.
- Beach access directly from the property
- Beach chairs, umbrellas, and pop-up canopies
- Private fishing pier and fishing rods
- Hiking trails through the island’s maritime forest
- Indoor fireplace and outdoor fire pit
- Propane grill
- Pool table
- Binoculars, bird spotting scope, and telescope
- Bicycles and kayaks
- Golf carts for getting around the island
- Private boat dock
Ted Turner House Off-Grid Systems
Despite its remote setting deep in the island’s maritime forest, the house is entirely self-sufficient, with no connection to mainland utility grids. Power comes from solar arrays backed by propane-fueled generators, water is treated through a reverse osmosis filtration system, and waste is handled through an on-site septic system.
This off-grid setup reflects the same conservation-first mindset that shaped the rest of the island — practical infrastructure designed to keep the property fully functional without disturbing the surrounding barrier-island ecosystem.
Ted Turner Home Architectural Style
The house follows a straightforward, rustic beach-retreat design rather than any single architectural movement. Every material was brought in by boat shortly after Turner purchased the island in 1979, which naturally limited the design to something practical and durable rather than elaborate.
No major renovation history has been publicly documented since construction, and the house has largely remained in its original form throughout its nearly 40 years under Turner’s ownership.
Design Inspiration of the Ted Turner House
The design philosophy behind the house was function over flash. Materials were chosen for durability against coastal weather rather than visual statement, and the layout was built to accommodate a large family comfortably rather than to impress visitors.
The screened porch became the design centerpiece, prioritizing unobstructed ocean views over any interior showpiece. Furnishings throughout lean casual and beach-practical, consistent with a property meant for hiking, fishing, and time outdoors rather than indoor entertaining.
Buying and Ownership History of the Ted Turner House
- 1979: Ted Turner purchases St. Phillips Island to protect it from development
- Early 1980s: The Turner house is constructed on the island, built entirely from boat-delivered materials
- 1979–2017: The property serves as a private family retreat for nearly 40 years
- 2017: The State of South Carolina purchases the island
- Today: The island is managed by South Carolina State Parks alongside neighboring Hunting Island State Park, with the house available for select rentals and guided eco-tours
How Much Is the Ted Turner House Worth?
The house itself isn’t sold or individually appraised — it’s part of the state-owned St. Phillips Island property, now managed as a public park asset. Its value today is best measured through rental pricing rather than a resale figure.
A standard five-night rental of the Turner house alone starts at $10,000, while an exclusive rental of both the house and the full island runs $18,000 for five nights. Both packages include scheduled boat transportation to and from the island.
Where Does Ted Turner Live Today? Is Ted Turner Dead or Alive?
Ted Turner passed away on May 6, 2026, at age 87, at his Avalon Plantation estate near Tallahassee, Florida. At the time of his death, he had spent decades dividing his time between his ranch and plantation properties, with Avalon widely described as the place he considered home base in his later years.
He no longer owned Turner Broadcasting System by that point — he sold the company to Time Warner in 1996 and had no operational role in CNN or Turner Broadcasting for years before his passing. His conservation land, including the ranches in Montana and New Mexico, is expected to remain under private, protected ownership through Turner Enterprises and the Turner Foundation.
Additional Properties of Ted Turner
Ted Turner’s real estate and land holdings extended far beyond South Carolina, making him one of the largest private landowners in the United States at the time of his death. Turner Enterprises operated 13 ranches across six states — Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, and South Dakota — totaling roughly two million acres of personal and ranch land.
| Property | Location | Size | Details |
| Avalon Plantation | Near Tallahassee, FL (Lamont area) | ~25,000 acres | Turner’s primary residence in later years; 15,000 sq. ft. Colonial Revival house built in 1938; site of his 1991 wedding to Jane Fonda |
| Flying D Ranch | Southwest Montana, near Bozeman | 113,613 acres | Turner’s favorite ranch; bison and wildlife conservation property |
| Snowcrest Ranch | Alder, Montana | 13,343 acres | Bison and native-species habitat restoration ranch |
| Vermejo Park Ranch | Colfax County, NM (near Colorado border) | ~550,000 acres | Turner’s flagship New Mexico property; luxury Casa Grande lodge |
| Ladder Ranch | Near Caballo Lake, NM | ~156,000 acres | Wildlife conservation ranch, including Mexican gray wolf recovery efforts |
| Armendaris Ranch | Southern New Mexico | ~360,000 acres | Desert conservation ranch bordering White Sands Missile Range |
| Z Bar Ranch | South-central Kansas | 42,479 acres | Native mixed-grass prairie along the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River; bison, antelope, and prairie chicken habitat |
| Spikebox Ranch | Nebraska Sandhills | 142,000 acres | Remote sandhills rangeland; one of Turner’s largest bison operations |
| Blue Creek Ranch | Southwest Nebraska | 85,635 acres | Sandhills rangeland home to more than 5,000 bison |
| McGinley Ranch | Northern Nebraska / southern South Dakota | 79,145 acres | Straddles the Nebraska–South Dakota state line |
| Fawn Lake Ranch | Nebraska | Acreage undisclosed | One of five Turner ranches in Nebraska |
| Deer Creek Ranch | Nebraska | Acreage undisclosed | One of five Turner ranches in Nebraska |
| Bad River Ranch | Central South Dakota | ~148,000 acres | Major bison-breeding ranch near the historic Bad River |
| Standing Butte | South Dakota | Acreage undisclosed | Grassland conservation and bison ranch |
| Atlanta Penthouse | Bona Allen (Turner) Building, Downtown Atlanta | Penthouse | Turner’s residence above his corporate offices near the former CNN Center |
Final Thoughts
The Ted Turner house on St. Phillips Island stands apart from most celebrity real estate because it was never built to impress anyone. It was built to survive a barrier island, house a family comfortably, and stay out of the way of the landscape Turner spent decades trying to protect.
That approach outlived him — the island is now public land, the house welcomes overnight guests, and the conservation mission that shaped it in 1979 continues today under South Carolina State Parks.
FAQs
Q. Where is the Ted Turner house located?
It’s on St. Phillips Island, a 4,680-acre barrier island off the coast of Beaufort, South Carolina, accessible only by boat.
Q. Can you actually stay in the Ted Turner house?
Yes. South Carolina State Parks offers five-night rental packages, either for the house alone or for an exclusive rental of the entire island.
Q. Does Ted Turner still own Turner Broadcasting?
No. He sold Turner Broadcasting System to Time Warner in 1996 and had no operational role in the company for years before his death.
