G ayle Benson is an American billionaire businesswoman who is the owner of the National Football League's New Orleans Saints and the National Basketball Association's New Orleans Pelicans. She is the widow of Tom Benson, a self-made billionaire who built a business empire in car dealerships and banking and acquired the two professional sports teams.

Upon her husband's death in 2018, Gayle Benson inherited sole control of the two franchises, becoming one of the few women to be the principal owner of both an NFL and an NBA team. Her inheritance was the subject of a high-profile and bitter legal dispute with her late husband's daughter and grandchildren, a battle which she ultimately won. She is now a prominent and highly visible figure in the city of New Orleans, leading its two major sports teams and engaging in extensive philanthropic work in the region.