Gerald M. Levin, former Time Warner CEO responsible for AOL merger, dies at 84

His career at Time Warner was irrevocably associated with the $100 billion AOL merger write-down

Gerald M. Levin | Photo Credit: Reuters

Former Time Warner CEO, Gerald M. Levin, passed away at the age of 84 in a hospital in Long Beach, California, as confirmed by his grandchild Jake Maia Arlow to the New York Times. While the cause of death was not disclosed, Levin had been battling Parkinson’s disease.

Levin’s tenure at Time Warner was marked by both triumph and turmoil. Named co-CEO in 1992, he ascended to sole chief executive following the death of Steven J. Ross. However, Levin’s legacy will forever be intertwined with the ill-fated merger he engineered with AOL in 2000, a deal valued at $350 billion.

The AOL Time Warner merger, announced during the dot-com bubble, quickly unraveled in the wake of the dot-com recession, resulting in a staggering $100 billion write-down and Levin’s resignation in 2002.

Before the AOL debacle, Levin had a distinguished career at Time Warner. Joining as an attorney, he rose to become CEO of Home Box Office (HBO) in 1973, where he pioneered the transmission of HBO’s signal nationwide via satellite, a move that revolutionized the television industry.

In addition to his role at HBO, Levin played a pivotal role in Time Warner’s merger with Warner Communications and the subsequent acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System, which brought iconic networks like CNN, TBS, and Cartoon Network under the Time Warner umbrella.

Born in 1939, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Levin earned degrees from Haverford College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Throughout his life, he married three times, survived by four children, and preceded in death by his son Jonathan.