/------------------------------/
                                                /        OMB APPROVAL          /
                                                /------------------------------/
                                                / OMB Number:        3235-0287 /
                                                / Expires: December 31, 2001   /
                                                / Estimated average burden     /
                                                / hours per response...... 0.5 /
                                                /------------------------------/

+--------+
| FORM 4 |                       U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
+--------+                               WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
[_] Check this box if
    no longer subject         STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
    to Section 16.
    Form 4 or Form 5       Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities
    obligations may           Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the
    continue. See            Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or
    Instruction 1(b).      Section 30(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

(Print or Type Responses)

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.  Name and Address of Reporting Person*

       Gearon, Jr.                     J.                           Michael
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        (Last)                      (First)                        (Middle)

       116 Huntington Avenue
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       (Street)

       Boston                    Massachusetts                        02116
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        (City)                      (State)                           (Zip)


2.  Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol

    American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.  I.R.S. Identification Number of Reporting Person, if an Entity (Voluntary)

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.  Statement for Month/Year

    September 2001
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.  If Amendment, Date of Original (Month/Year)

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------





6.  Relationship of Reporting Person to Issuer (Check all applicable)


     X  Director     X  Officer                 10% Owner        Other
    ---             --- (give title below)   ---             --- (specify below)

     President of American Tower International
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.  Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check applicable line)

      X  Form filed by One Reporting Person
    ----
    ---- Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table I--Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Title 2. Trans- 3. Trans- 4. Securities Acquired (A) 5. Amount of 6. Owner- 7. Nature of action action or Disposed of (D) Securities ship of In- Security Date Code (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) Beneficially Form: direct (Instr. 3) (Month/ (Instr. 8) Owned at Direct Bene- Day/ ----------------------------------------------- End of (D) or ficial Year) Month Indirect Owner- Code V Amount (A) or Price (Instr. 3 and 4) (I) ship (D) (Instr. 4) (Instr. 4) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Class A Common 9/10/01 P 5,000 A $11.02 Stock (1) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Class A Common 9/10/01 P 5,000 A $11.07 733,743(2) D Stock (1) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2,028,854(2) I By Partnership - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 40,000(2) I By Partnership - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reminder: Report on a seperate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. * If this form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v). (Over) SEC 1474 (3-99)
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table II--Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities) - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Title of Derivative 2. Conver- 3. Trans- 4. Transac- 5. Number of Deriv- Security (Instr. 3) sion or action tion Code ative Securities Exercise Date (Instr. 8) Acquired (A) or Price of (Month/ Disposed of (D) Deriv- Day/ (Instr. 3, 4, and 5) ative Year) Security --------------------------------------------------- Code V (A) (D) - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table II--Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities) -- continued - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Date Exer- 7. Title and Amount of 8. Price 9. Number 10. Owner- 11. Na- cisable and Underlying Securities of of Deriv- ship ture Expiration (Instr. 3 and 4) Deriv- ative Form of In- Date ative Secur- of De- direct (Month/Day/ Secur- ities rivative Bene- Year) ity Bene- Security: ficial (Instr. ficially Direct Owner- -------------------------------------------- 5) Owned (D) or ship Date Expira- Amount or at End Indi- (Instr. Exer- tion Title Number of of rect (I) 4) cisable Date Shares Month (Instr. 4) (Instr. 4) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Explanation of Responses: (1) This Form 4 is being filed to report Mr. Gearon's purchase of 10,000 shares of Class A Commom Stock on the open market on September 10, 2001. (2) The information set forth in column 5, "Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned at End of Month" includes information, as of September 10, 2001, only with respect to Mr. Gearon's beneficial ownership of Class A Common Stock. It does not include information about Mr. Gearon's beneficial ownership of stock options to purchase Class A Common Stock because Mr. Gearon had no reportable transactions in such securities during the period for which this report is filed. ** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a). /s/ J. Michael Gearon, Jr. September 10, 2001 - ------------------------------- -------------------- **Signature of Reporting Person Date Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space provided is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure. Page 2 SEC 1474 (3-99)