Thomas Milton Benson was born on the 12th July 1927 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. As Tom Benson, he is best known for owning the New Orleans Saints, a professional American football team, and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, a professional American basketball team, which are the main source of Benson’s net worth. He has been active since 1948.
Have you ever wondered how rich Tom Benson is? According to estimates from sources, Tom counts his net worth at the decent amount of $1.63 billion. Obviously, most of his income is the result of his successful involvement in the sports industry, as the owner of two great American sports teams. Besides that, Tom’s fortune has been accumulated through many investments in local banks, during the time when he was the owner of several car dealerships. Currently, Benson has one more source of his wealth – he is the owner of the local Fox affiliate, which broadcasts the games of his teams.
Tom Benson Net Worth $1.63 Billion
Tom Benson is the child of Thomas Benson Sr. and Carmen Benson and was raised in New Orleans. He served in The US Navy, after which in 1948 he started his education as an accountant at Loyola University of New Orleans. After his graduation, Benson started to earn money as a car dealer at Cathey Chevrolet in New Orleans. When he was 29 years old, he moved to San Antonio to try make a business of a failing car sales company, became a part-owner, and in 1962 Benson opened his own dealership called “Tom Benson Chevrolet”, which was the first of many he has owned in San Antonio and his hometown. So, this business added significantly to his net worth. However, he wanted to earn more, so he took his profits from his car dealerships and started investing them in the local banks. This resulted in the Benson founded “Benson Financial”, which was later sold for a huge profit and had a very positive effect on his net worth.
Tom Benson is a huge fan of the New Orleans Saints, and in 1985, when he heard that the team was on the edge of being sold and moved to Florida, he decided to invest and buy it. So, officially, the ownership of this team was transferred to him on the 31st May in the same year. It wasn`t long before he became one of the most popular owners in the league. He soon started using his leverages and hired general manager and head coach for their first winning season. Quickly, this huge step of Benson’s became the main source of his net worth and increased his fortune, because it is estimated that the team’s net worth is $970 million. Despite this huge success, Benson also still owns several car dealerships. These achievements contributed considerably in adding to his net worth.
Speaking about Tom Benson’s personal life, he has married three times. His first wife was Shirley Landry, who is deceased. They adopted three children – Robert, Renee and Jeanne. His second wife was Grace Marie Trudeau Benson, who passed away of Parkinson’s disease. Later, in 2004, he married Gayle Marie LaJaunie Bird. Benson is now a grandfather, Renee has two children – Rita LeBlanc and Ryan LeBlanc. Rita had been a co-owner of the Saints, until her grandfather fired her. Anyway, now he has only one living child, Renee. Family grievances continue, but Tom has recently been declared legally ‘competent’ – no doubt more arguments will ensue.
Meantime, Tom Benson is also noted philanthropist, having donated to several catholic educational institutions in San Antonio and New Orleans, as well as to the Tulane University, New Orleans and Fawcett, Ohio Stadia.
