Tom Benson

Tom Benson
Saints owner Tom Benson in October 2005
Born	Thomas Milton Benson (1927-07-12) July 12, 1927 (age 89) New Orleans, Louisiana United States
Residence	New Orleans
Education	St. Aloysius, 1944
Alma mater	Loyola University New Orleans, 1948
Occupation	Businessman NFL team owner NBA team owner philanthropist
Years active	1985–present (as New Orleans Saints Owner) 2012–present (as New Orleans Pelicans Owner)
Net worth	US$2.2 billion (September 2015)
Spouse(s)	Gayle Benson (née LaJaunie) (m. 2004) Shirley Landry (deceased) Grace Marie Trudeau (deceased)
Children	Three (two deceased)
Parent(s)	Thomas Benson Sr. Carmen Benson (both deceased)

Thomas Milton Benson (born July 12, 1927) is the owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans.

Benson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to the late Thomas Benson, Sr., and the late Carmen Benson. He served in the U.S. Navy and then graduated with an accounting degree at Loyola University of New Orleans in 1948. After school he worked as a car salesman at Cathey Chevrolet in New Orleans. In 1956, he moved to San Antonio to try and revive a poorly performing dealership; he was granted a 25% interest in the dealership for his efforts. In 1962, he became full owner of Tom Benson Chevrolet. He is the owner of several automobile dealerships in the Greater New Orleans and San Antonio areas. Benson became wealthy by investing profits from his automobile dealerships in local banks. He eventually purchased several small Southern banks and formed Benson Financial, which he sold to Norwest Corporation in 1996.

He purchased the Saints from John Mecom in 1985 after he learned from Governor Edwin W. Edwards that the team was on the verge of being sold to parties interested in moving the team to Jacksonville, Florida. As a successful businessman, he recognized the economic implications of such a move not only for the city of New Orleans, but for the state of Louisiana as well, which was in the midst of a deep economic recession caused by plummeting crude oil prices. Ownership of the team was officially transferred to him on May 31, 1985.

Shortly after acquiring the Saints, he gained a reputation as one of the more popular and colorful owners in the league. He hired general manager Jim Finks and head coach Jim Mora, who led the Saints to their first winning season and playoff appearance.