Gayle Cook (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Karch, born March 1, 1934) is an American businesswoman who in 1963 co-founded the

Cook Group Cook Group Incorporated is an American privately held company based in Bloomington, Indiana, and primarily involved in manufacturing of medical devices. It was ranked #324 in Forbes' 2008 America's Largest Private Companies. It has three main divis ...

, a medical equipment manufacturing company, with her husband William Cook.Kathleen McLaughlin
Gayle Cook tops list of richest Hoosiers
''Indiana Business Journal'', September 22, 2011 In 2014, her net worth was estimated at US$5.8 billion.

Early life

Gayle Karch was born on March 1, 1934, in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

, the daughter of Arthur and Thelma Karch. She graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

in 1956 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in Fine Arts.

Career

In 1963, she and her husband William Cook co-founded the

, a medical equipment manufacturer.Preservationist Gayle Cook to discuss 'The Mystique of Domes'
''Indiana State University Newsroom'', October 17, 2011 , she still served on the company's board of directors. According to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', she had a net worth of $5.8 billion in 2014, up from $5.2 billion in 2013, placing her at #85 on the ''

Forbes 400 The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is ...

'' for the year.

Philanthropy

Cook has made charitable contributions to her alma mater, Indiana University, and serves on the board of the Indiana University Foundation. She received the Gertrude Rich Award in 1983 an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 1993, both from Indiana University. She and her husband have funded the restoration of many historic buildings, mainly in southern Indiana, including 40 that appear on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. She is a co-founder of the Monroe County Historical Society Museum, a member of the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, and a Landmark member of

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

Personal life

Gayle Cook was married to William Cook from 1957 until his death in 2011.Schuyler Volasco
Forbes billionaires list: Meet the nine richest self-made women
''

Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper b ...

'', March 5, 2013 Their son,

Carl Cook Carl Cook (born November 10, 1962) is an American billionaire businessman. He is CEO of the Cook Group, a medical device company that was co-founded by his parents. As of May 2024, his net worth is estimated to be $10.6 billion, making him the ...

, succeeded William as CEO upon the latter's death. She also has a granddaughter. She has coauthored two books on local landmarks, ''A Guide to Southern Indiana'' (1972, with William Cook) and ''Monroe County in Focus'' (1990, with Diana Hawes and Will Counts).

Bibliography

*''A Guide to Southern Indiana'' (with William Cook, Owen Litho Service, 1972). *''Monroe County in Focus: Portrait of an Indiana County'' (with Diana Hawes and Will Counts, Discovery Press, 1990).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Gayle Living people People from Bloomington, Indiana Indiana University Bloomington alumni American billionaires Female billionaires 1934 births