Who am i winning for . Am i winning for oracle shareholders, or is it simply a matter of personal vanity . Ill admit to it, mea culpa. An awful lot of it is personal vanity. I think we are curious about ourselves. Were curious about our own limits, then we try to discover or own limits. And a lot of what keeps me going and keeps my drive is, im curious as to how far i can go, how far oracle can go. Theyre inextricably linked. [ticking] t. Boone pickens is on a National Campaign to change American Energy policy. His plan is to replace foreign oil with natural gas and wind, which he says will be good for the country and good for him. Whats the balance for you between, im doing something for america, and, im doing something for boone . Oh, you know, no question. Im rich enough. I mean, lets dont talk about boone. But i dont want what do you mean, dont talk about boone . Boone thinks about boone. Well, let me tell you, i sure as hell dont want to lose. Ill tell you that. Welcome to 60 minutes on cnbc. Im steve kroft. In this edition, we meet three maverick businessmen medial mogul ted turner, tech tycoon Larry Ellison, and oil man turned alternative energy crusader t. Boone pickens. We begin with ted turner. The cable news pioneer built an empire and a massive fortune in the 1980s, only to lose a good chunk of both in the illfated aol time warner merger of 2001. Despite the losses, hes maintained the manic energy that drove him to change the landscape of the Information Age by creating cnn and 24hour news. The man once described as both genius and jackass sat down with morley safer in 2008, shortly after the release of his memoir, to reflect on his tumultuous life. Ted turner is one of the largest individual landowners in the united states, owning two million acres across 12 states. We caught up with him at one of his montana ranches. This lonesome cowboy, who hates his own company. You hate being alone. I dont like being alone. These are big places to be alone. I tell you, come out here and spend the night by yourself sometime. You know, the coyotes out there howling. Ahooh [chuckling] [chortles] its pretty scary. Out here at the snowcrest ranch, ted turner is not alone. He keeps company with bison, horses, and a stream full of ruby river trout. Ohho mama mia thats a real nice fish. Life is good for ted turner. Hes not your average old age pensioner. This most restless of men jets around the world. Here we go. Promoting good causes, dreaming up new business ventures, and dropping in on his dozens of properties scattered about the hemisphere. And now as he turns 70, hes written his book. So after his morning ride, the man who proudly says he never looks back decided to do just that, to let ted reflect on ted. Ive had the good fortune to have a much more diverse life than most people, with professional sports and television and news and movies. And a fairly spectacular private life too. Well, its been a lot of fun. Ted turner burst on the scene in 1977 when he captained courageous, the yacht that won the americas cup. As a blottoed turner celebrated, captain outrageous emerged. [laughter and cheering] but it was his groundbreaking creation of cnn that put turner indelibly on the map. But his companys rapid growth and ballooning debt nearly bankrupted him. I was gonna go broke if i didnt get things turned around real fast. But i was able to get it refinanced, without government help, i might add, unlike whats going on today. But we made it. Well, by the skin on our chinny chinchin. Two years later, we made a run at cbs. Unsuccessful, but we did take a swing. Instead, turner went on on to create his own broadcasting powerhouse. And when he merged his company with time warner in 1996, his status as media visionary was confirmed. I didnt care how much adversity life threw at me, i intended to get to the top. The adversity started at infancy, shipped off to boarding school at the age of four, followed by years military school for discipline. He says his alcoholic father did everything he could to toughen him up. You had a pretty tough father. So what . You know, lots of people have tough fathers. He beat you up. No, he didnt beat me up. He spanked me. Spanked me with a wire hanger . Yeah, a couple times. But thats pretty traumatic stuff. It was, but it was doing it to make me better. And you think it made you better . I think so. At age 21, he began working for his fathers Outdoor Advertising business, but shortly after an event that both shaped and shattered ted turner. Your fathers suicide, that would strike me as something that would be awfully difficult for anybody to get over. Sure. Were you out to prove something to him even though he was gone . He wanted me to be a big success, and all my life, ive tried to be a big success. So his influence was huge. That success is plastered all over the walls of his atlanta office. Cnn made turner into a statesman of sorts, hobnobbing with world leaders. But he may be best remembered for the impolitic things hes said, insulting christianity, fellow billionaires, even the italians. The italians, the italians. Imagine the italians at war. I mean, theyd rather be involved in crime and just making some wine and having a good time. His utter inability to self censor earned turner the nickname the mouth from the south. To some, it was evidence of true mental instability. Turner admits he took the drug lithium for a while, but said it had no effect. But that didnt stop his rival, rupert murdoch, from questioning his sanity during their legendary war of words. His newspapers were pretty brutal in attacking you. Oh, all the time. They called you crazy. Thats right. Nuts, i think they said. He had a detective following me around at times. At least i think he did. I never had any proof of it. You once said that murdoch was the most dangerous man in the world. You still believe that . No. Ive made peace with rupert. We had lunch together a few months ago. Now theres not anybody i dont like. But after this interviews over, i may not like you. [chuckling] yeah. Vintage ted turner. As was his joy when he agreed to aols merger with time warner. I did it with with as much or more excitement and enthusiasm as i did on that night when i first made love some 42 years ago. It was thatits that kind of. He was now worth 10 billion. But shortly after the merger, turner was pushed aside by time warner brass vice chairman of nothing even though he was the companys largest individual stockholder. Then the internet bubble burst, and aol time warners stock went into freefall. You were losing nearly 10 million a day. No. For 2 1 2 years. A million a day. A million a day for 2 1 2 years . Wait a minute. Thatd be 700 million. No, youre right, 10 million a day. Hey, listen, i didnt i get thousands, millions, and billions mixed up and i but when youre bleeding 10 million a day, at some point you just got to say, im getting out of this. But my kids were all in the stock, most of my friends were. So i sat there loyally and went down the drain with everybody else. [ticking] coming up, jane fonda on ted turner. Its impossible to really be with ted the way he needs someone to be with him and have any kind of life of your own. Hes perfectly aware of it. He said to me, he said, i hate being alone. Hes aware that it makes it hard for the person whos, you know, trying to love him. But whats interesting is, the moment hes in one place for a couple of days, hes got to move on to somewhere else. Yeah, when youre chased by demons, you have to keep moving. Thats ahead when 60 minutes on cnbc returns. [ticking] it starts with something little, like taking a first step. And then another. And another. And if you do it. And your friends do it. And their friends do it. Soon well be walking our way to awareness, support and an end to alzheimers disease. And that . That would be big. Grab your friends and family and start a team today. Register at alz. Org has oats that can help lower cholesterol . And it tastes good . Sure does wow. Its the honey, it makes it taste so. Well, would you look at the time. Whats the rush . Be happy. Be healthy. Ted turner lost a reported 7 billion when his aol time warner stock went into freefall. To turner, it was apocalypse now. His marriage to jane fonda was breaking up, a grandchild was gravely ill, and he was jobless. His five children were worried that like his father, turner might take is own life. He contemplated suicide. And i was really worried. When jane left him and, you know, they took away his job the way they did, he was. Thats right. That was the lowest id ever seen him. He was really depressed, and a lot of other things were happening in our family as well. So it was a really, really tough time for him. He barreled through it. And he also got help. He got professional help. He went to a shrink . Yeah. Exactly. And he said he always left his shrink and he cheered his shrink up. [laughter] he said he would leave him laughing. Turner admits he spent more time gallivanting around the globe than he did being a father. I think he may be the most restless man ive ever met. We never sat down for a meal for more than 15 minutes. I guarantee you. Hed also give the monologue. The conversation was his through the whole dinner. The operative word is monologue, yes . He likes to talk at you. So how was your day time to go. Yeah, after a vacation with dad, you need a vacation. Recently, turner says, he has become a better father and feels his relationship with his children is his greatest achievement. If his kids is his greatest achievement, what do you think is his biggest disappointment . Ive heard him say his failure of his marriages. Hes been married three times, most famously to actress jane fondaa union that lasted ten years. You seemed really happy, you and jane fonda together . We were for a long time. And what went wrong . Its hard to tell. Obviously it was a combination of things. Do you wish that the marriage had managed to survive . Well, i didnt. I mean, theres no point in sitting around and crying about spilt milk. Got to move on. Moving on is turners mantra. It also put a hex on his marriage to jane fonda. Its impossible to really be with ted the way he needs someone to be with him and have any kind of life of your own. Hes perfectly aware of it. He said to me, he said, i hate being alone. Hes aware that it makes it hard for the person whos, you know, trying to love him. But whats interesting is, the moment hes in one place for a couple of days, hes got to move on to somewhere else. Yeah, when youre chased by demons, you have to keep moving. Though theyve been divorced for eight years, theyre in some way inseparable. You know, if if ted really needed me, i would be there in a blue minute. Yeah, i think he misses you a lot. I thinki think he does. Yeah. [sighs] im not getting emotional because i wish i was still living with him. But ihe touches me deeply, deeply, the contradictions that make up ted turner. Turner admits being a husband is not his strong suit. You have a tough time of monogamy, correct . Its a lot easier now. Now that youre not married, you mean. Well, and being 70 too. But you still have a lot of girlfriends. I still have some. [chortles] im dating. Turner now dates several women at once, and they all look remarkably alike. They take turns as traveling companions in his restless wandering. And hes as generous as ever with his philanthropy. He famously pledged 1 billion to the u. N. And has given another half billion or so to causes he believes in. But lest you think turner has completely withdrawn from business, welcome to teds montana grill. Everything okay . Home of the bison burger. Hi. Turner started the ecofriendly chain as a way of insuring the survival of his favorite mammal, both on a bun and roaming the prairie. So these are bison. Yeah. Dont step in the poop. His herd of 50,000 roams on only a few of the 27 properties he owns across north and south america. He plans to leave it all to conservation after hes gone. When our times up, its up. No matter how rich you are, doesnt matter. Thats right. All the money in the world wont buy you one more day. So you might as well give it away. Might as well. Portrait of a man temporarily at peace, taking a break from his Marathon Race with life. Catch and release, just like those billions that slipped away. Out here i dont have to worry about the seven billion i lost. Seven billion. It makes you stop and think. You know, you got you cant cry over spilt milk, as i said before. Got to press on, my man. Haha another nice one. Heeheehee [chuckles] ted turner keeps moving. He dedicates most of his time these days to his philanthropic and charitable interests. Among his many activities, he serves on the United Nations committee to eliminate poverty and is cochairman of the Nuclear Threat initiative. He also remains closely involved with his restaurant chain, teds montana grill, and his bison herd, which continues to be the largest in the world. [ticking] coming up, the most competitive man in the world. His adopted father, Lewis Ellison, was mainly dismissive. He said to you. Id never amount to anything. You remember him saying it . Well, it was his alternative greeting as opposed to, hi, how are you, or, how did it go at school today . Because i was constantly questioning authority, he felt that would continuously get me trouble as it had in school, as it had in the boy scouts, as it had on athletic teams. But is any part of you that now says, it gave me a drive that i might not have had otherwise . Oh, yeah, i had all the disadvantages required success. Oracle Ceo Larry Ellison next on 60 minutes on cnbc. [ticking] the great outdoors. And a great deal. Grrrr ahhh lets leave the deals to hotels. Com. Perfect yep, and no angry bears. Up to 40 off. Only at hotels. Com could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Mmmhmmm. Everybody knows that. Well, did you know that old macdonald was a really bad speller . Your word is. Cow. Cow. Cow. C. O. W. E. I. E. I. O. [buzzer] dangnabbit. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you. Well, you know. But at least i can help keep their underwear clean. With charmin ultra strong. Ill take that. Go get em, buddy [ female announcer ] charmin ultra strong has a duraclean texture and its four times stronger than the leading bargain brand. Enjoy the go with charmin ultra strong. Help the gulf when we made recover and learn the gulf, bp from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. I can tell you safety is at the heart of everything we do. Weve added cuttingedge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a stateoftheart monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twentyfourseven. And were sharing what weve learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. Our commitment has never been stronger. [ticking] Larry Ellison started the Software Company oracle with an investment of just 1,200. Today he is one of the richest men in the world. He has spent more than 100 Million Building what may be the most expensive home in the united states. And hes poured at least as much into his quest to win the americas cup. In 2004, when ellison sat down with charlie rose, the number two Software Maker in the world was pushing his company to be number one, and he was still chasing yacht racings holy grail. In other words, he was more than living up to his reputation as the most competitive man in the world. [helicopter blades whirring] its a perfect day on San Francisco bay. Normal tack. Bmg. Quick fill. Hold the angle down. Larry ellisons boat is usa 76, the one with oracle on its sail. His opponent is named alinghi, the boat that beat him in the americas cup. And bill coming up on tacking. Ellison invited us along for the race, and we wondered just how much hed spent so far chasing the cup. 100 million. Have you really . Yeah. 100 million . Close enough. Close enough, yeah. 100 million. Its that much its worth that much to you to bring home the americas cup, 100 million . It was. Its not worth that much to lose the americas cup. [laughter] ellisons boat will be the main challenger at the next americas cup, but thats three years away. For now, the boats battle in a series of exhibition races, this one in San Francisco. Got to be real careful we dont have to turn out. Five minutes before the start, the boats begin to zigzag in a high stakes game of chicken. 75 of races are won by the first boat to cross the starting line. Straight at it, larry. Just point the bow at it. Exhibition or not, ellison was out to win. Some say youre the most competitive man in the world. [laughs] ill bet you in your mind, after losing the americas cup, every day since then, you get up thinking, how can i win this time . Thatsnot every day. Theres probably a few days that go by i dont think about it. But you do. But sure, i im addicted to winning. The more you win, the more you want to win. In silicon valley, oracles glass towers are called larry land. Ladies and gentlemen, mr. Larry ellison. The 59yearold founder built his empire on software that manages data and information for business and government. The softwares Something Like a giant brain, allowing the cia, which was oracles first customer, to sift through intelligence gathered from all over the world. A company like ford uses it to retrieve and analyze data on anything from car sales to employee benefits. Youve probably used oracles software yourself at your banks atm or booking a plane ticket or buying a book over the internet. It is a huge business that has made Larry Ellison very, very rich. You were briefly, a month, the worlds richest man. Absolutely. That was one hell of a month. Everything was different. We can joke about it, but you liked it. Oh, sure. You were the one. [chuckling] for 30 days. Microsoft corporation, bill gates. He revels in it because ellison becoming number one meant somebody else had to be number two. And that somebody was bill gates, whose microsoft towers over all the competition, including oracle. Its an exciting game thats going on right now, and it is to some degree a game. You know, microsofts in first place, were in second place. Were trying to catch them. Theyre not making it easy. Theyre an extraordinary company. Theyre the most Important Company on earth. Theyve got 50 billion on the bank, and youve got 5, 6 in the bank . [chuckling] yeah, were were far behind. Theyre three times bigger than we are. They have a monopoly. We dont. Darn it. Yeah. [laughs] [rowing machine zipping] ellison has the reputation of being a funloving playboy. Hes been divorced three times, has two kids, and recently married a fourth time to a writer of romance novels, melanie craft. He admits personal relationships were never his highest priority growing up on chi