Gayle Marie LaJaunie Bird Benson (born January 26, 1947) is an American billionaire, businesswoman and sports franchise owner. Following the death of her husband, Tom Benson, she became principal owner of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL) and the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2018.Benson is the first woman to be the majority shareholder of the voting stock in both an NFL and NBA franchise.