Gayle Benson

Net worth over time

Forbes estimates of Gayle Benson's net worth each year, next to the Forbes value of the New Orleans Pelicans. From 2018 to now the net worth went from $2.8B to $11.2B, about 4 times as much.

Yearly points are from the Forbes billionaires lists, mostly the spring World's Billionaires list; the last point is the latest Forbes real-time figure, which can differ a lot from the spring list. Years without a published figure are skipped.

The businesses in detail

How the main business makes money. Her fortune is inherited and is almost all two teams. The teams earn money from league media deals, tickets, sponsorship and stadium revenue. Forbes estimates Pelicans revenue at $348M for 2025-26. In 2024-25 the gate brought in $40M and players were paid $167M. The larger gain is the rise in sale value. The Pelicans cost $338M in 2012, and Forbes now values them at $4.1B.

Biggest deals.

• 13 April 2012: Tom Benson bought the New Orleans Hornets from the NBA for $338M and later renamed them the Pelicans.
• April 2019: she bought the Hyatt Regency with Berger Co. and Fulcrum Hospitality, the family's first hotel.
• September 2021: she set a succession plan, approved by the NFL. Both teams are to be sold after her death, with the proceeds going to charity.
• 2 October 2025: the Saints' Superdome lease was extended through at least 2035. She cites a $180M contribution to the stadium's renovation.

Career path

1. 1966

   Finishes high school; early jobs as a receptionist and secretary

2. 1975

   Founds interior design firm Gayle Bird Interiors

3. 2004

   Marries Tom Benson; starts attending NFL owners meetings

4. 2015

   Tom Benson names her his heir; his daughter and grandchildren sue, a court finds him competent, and the case is settled confidentially in 2017

5. 2018

   Tom Benson dies on 15 March; she becomes sole owner of both teams

6. 2019

   Fires Pelicans general manager Dell Demps; buys the Hyatt Regency

7. 2021

   Announces her succession plan

8. 2025

   Hires Joe Dumars to run Pelicans basketball; says the teams are not for sale

Teams and sports assets

Owns now 3

• teamNew Orleans PelicansNBA · Basketball · USSince 2018 · 100% · Inherited; Tom Benson paid $338M in 2012
• teamNew Orleans SaintsNFL · American football · USSince 2018 · 100% · Inherited; Tom Benson owned the team from 1985
• sports businessGMB RacingHorse racing · USSince 2014 · Owner · Founded by her

Other investments and assets

• Companies and funds: The local businesses listed above. No public shareholdings were found.
• Property: Benson Tower, a share of the Hyatt Regency and other real estate ventures.
• Family in the business: None. The key executives are Dennis Lauscha, president of both teams, and Mickey Loomis.

Giving and politics

• The Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation gave more than $100M between 2007 and 2021.
• Named gifts include $20M for cancer care and research (2015) and $5M to Jesuit High School (2019).
• Proceeds from the eventual sale of both teams are to fund a multi-billion-dollar charitable foundation for the New Orleans area.
• No political donations were found. She sits on the NBA Foundation board.

How they run their teams

• She says she hires people she trusts, funds them and holds them accountable without managing every detail.
• She fired Demps in February 2019 after Anthony Davis asked for a trade.
• She hired Joe Dumars in 2025 and left the decision on coach Willie Green, fired in November 2025, to him.
• The Pelicans' lease at the state-owned Smoothie King Center runs through June 2029. No new lease was reported signed.

What they have said

• She said the teams are not for sale and that buyer inquiries waste her time.
• She said she is in the building every day and leaves basketball decisions to the people she hires.
• She described herself as a steward who cannot take the wealth with her and wants the proceeds to benefit the city.
• In her first remarks as owner, she said she would keep the organization as it was.
• After the Anthony Davis trade demand, she ruled out ever selling or relocating the Pelicans.
• She told the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club the Saints' 1-4 start was unacceptable and that she takes responsibility as owner. She said only winning would restore fans' trust.

Little-known facts

• She has no heirs; both teams will be sold when she dies and the money given away.
• Before sports she ran an interior design business and renovated about 100 properties.
• She joined the Forbes 400 in 2018 at $2.8B, tied with Oprah Winfrey. Forbes now shows four times that.