Benson is the owner and chief executive of the New Orleans Saints, a National Football League team. She also owns the National Basketball Association's New Orleans Pelicans. Benson took ownership from her late husband Tom Benson who died in 2018. The family acquired the football team in 1985 and basketball team in 2012.
The majority of Benson's fortune is derived from full ownership of the New Orleans Saints, a franchise in the National Football League. The team is valued at $5.6 billion based on an August 2025 report by valuation consultants Sportico.
She also owns the New Orleans Pelicans, a team in the National Basketball Association. The Pelicans are worth $4.02 billion, based on an October 2025 Sportico report. She took control of the team following the passing of her husband Tom Benson, who died in 2018.
Tom Benson acquired the New Orleans Saints in 1985 for $64 million and the New Orleans Pelicans in 2012 for $338 million.
Other assets held by Benson aren't included here because their value is unknown.
Greg Bensel, a spokesperson for the New Orleans Saints, didn't respond to a request for comment on the net worth calculation.
Benson was born in January 1947 in New Orleans.
After graduating from Martin Behrman High School, she started working as a secretary before developing an interest in design. By 1968, she was working as a manager for a New York-based costume jeweler. She started her own business, Gayle Bird Interiors, in 1975.
She met Tom Benson at church and the pair married in 2004. They had both previously been twice-married.
In 2012, Tom Benson agreed to purchase National Basketball Association team the New Orleans Hornets, later renamed as the New Orleans Pelicans, for $338 million. He had owned the National Football League's New Orleans Saints since the 1980s.
By 2015, he had decided to make Gayle Benson the sole heir to the two teams. Previously, his daughter Renee Benson and her two children had been earmarked to take over.
Tom Benson died in 2018 and Gayle became sole owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. Gayle's ownership was confirmed following Tom's daughter and grandchildren opting not to challenge Tom's will prior to expiration of a March 2023 deadline.