Exxon Mobil ranked as #1 most profitable company for fifth year straight.
Filed Under: Energy
By on Apr 21st, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Exxon Mobil ranked as #1 most profitable company for fifth year straight.
Oil giant Exxon Mobil takes second place on the new Fortune 500 list, with first place going to Wal-Mart. Exxon Mobil, however, was the most profitable company for the fifth year in a row, “raking in a record-breaking $40 billion in 2007 earnings.”
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surprise surprise surprise. The price of gasoline has tripled since Mission Accomplished.
April 21st, 2008 at 10:34 pmSo why not give some of those profits back to help the country that made it possible for you to obtain such obscene wealth? Or do you not believe in helping your fellow Americans?
April 21st, 2008 at 10:34 pm#2 Wayne A Schneider
This is how much they care, not that you will be surprised.
Supreme Court refuses to hear Exxon appeal to $112 million fine
Exxon Mobil suffered a defeat at the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, as the justices refused to consider an appeal by the oil company of a $112 million damage award in an environmental lawsuit.
The court’s decision, posted without comment, effectively ended the litigation.
The case began in 1997 when a former Louisiana judge, Joseph Grefer, and his family sued Exxon, alleging that a contractor had contaminated the family’s land with radioactive waste.
They have dragged this case out for 11 years. The courts initially award the family 1 billion dollars in punitive damages and $56 million in compensatory damages by a Louisiana jury. This decision was just handed down today.
Exxon truly has no shame or regard for who they hurt. They are ruled by greed and and their bottom line.
April 21st, 2008 at 10:50 pmWayne:
Those executives who have profited so handsomely from a system they’ve inherited want no such social contract.
They want an uninterrupted stream of I’ve-got-mine libertarian/republican/republicratism.
And they’ve gotten 30 years straight of that ever since Reagan.
April 21st, 2008 at 11:29 pmi inherited some exxon stock.. for the life of me, i cant bring myself to sell it.i feel guilty..but..its like investing in evil..can you really go wrong?
April 21st, 2008 at 11:58 pmChocolate Jesus,
Evil does pay well. As a friend of mine once told me, “The more you help people the less you make, the more you hurt people, the more you make.”
Though, if you didn’t own the stock some other punk would so don’t feel ashamed. Boycott the company by not buying their gas but take their money all you want with your stocks.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:04 amNationalize Oil Companies
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:05 amMaybe I’m completely naive, but I believe that the power of the internet has given us a chance to mobilize about issues as we’ve never been able to do before. Is is completely absurd to consider starting a campaign to nationalize the oil companies?
Right now in the San Francisco Bay Area we are paying $4/gallon for medium grade gas. All you have to do is watch the network news over a period of a couple of weeks to absolutely know that we will never see $3/gallon again. Asia is competing not only for oil, but all resources. Can you beieve that there is a worldwide shortage of rice and wheat and that there are protests in many poor nations over the cost of food.
We, as Americans, always have had this sense of hope because in the past we were able to overcome extreme adversity, but the conditions that are upon us now are not going to get much better…unless there is a huge wave of realization of the perfect storm that we are facing.
I wouldn’t mind paying $4/gallon, although it really tightens my budget, if I knew that a good portion of that money was to find alternatives and to pay-off the oil companies to buy them out.
We cannot just sit by year after year and read about the obscene profits that these companies are making simply because they essentially have a monopoly.
Who is the brightest among us that can tell us how to organize and nationize?
It’s you damn Americans driving all those SUV that the government suggested you buy. You lap up all the fuel these poor oil companies can give you and this is the kind of respect you show to these hardworking multinational corporations? Shame!
The high cost of fuel is due solely to the American consumer! It has nothing to do with the US starting a stupid war in the oil producing region and putting 150,000 pairs of American boots on top of the second largest known bubble of oil in the world or spectulators bidding up the cost of a barrel of oil in an effort to make a shitload of money.
No, it’s all your fault Exxon’s making so much money, it couldn’t have anything to do with the Bush administration’s policies.
“Don’t quote me on this. Sometimes the truth is so precious, it must be accompanied by a bodyguard of lies.” - Ronald Dumsfeld -Used Car Salesman
“It just isn’t. There are certain things like that, myths that are floating around. I’m glad you asked. This war has nothing to do with oil, literally nothing to do with oil.”
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 am- Ronald Dumsfeld Secretary of War and Used Car Salesman
.
Well, crude tops $117.00 per barrel today…
.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:19 amBut noooooo, the oil companies aren’t gouging us…
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:28 amIt does cause one to wonder what they heck Cheney and the infamous energy task force might have discussed.
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:41 am> It does cause one to wonder what
> they heck Cheney and the
> infamous energy task force
> might have discussed.
I would speculate at one point the discussion turned to saddam and his dasardly ambitions…to sell his oil to the slants and the commies..in euros..when he was just gassing people, hey, hey was an alright guy…
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:30 amSo by all means, let’s continue to give starving Big Oil all those nice little billion dollar tax incentives.
Ya know, it’s tough out there.
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:37 amWhy is profit a bad word? Have they changed their profit margin? I say we do things to bring down the price per barrel. Like domestic drilling. Or building new and better refineries in the US. That would also help produce jobs. Cole gasification. Lets do that.
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:54 amDamn. And I don’t hold one share in Exxon stock.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:18 amThere hasn’t been a new refinery built in ~30 years and I wouldn’t mind if they never build another one. Those things are terrible. Ever lived near one?
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:19 amYou must have missed the “and better” part.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:40 am>You must have missed the “and better” part.
by “better” refineries, he means “ones further away from me”
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:25 amI say we do things to bring down the price per barrel. Like domestic drilling. Or building new and better refineries in the US.
There is nothing stopping the oil companies from uncapping all the wellheads that have been closed because the oil companies claimed it was too expensive to draw it out of the ground. With the prices so high, why do you think they haven’t opened them? And when refineries shut down because of a breakdown, it is money in their pockets, because then, they can justify raising the price. It’s the same scam electricity producers pulled on Californians.
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:34 amrjpape Says:
Nationalize Oil Companies
I agree with you, and I expect to be harshly treated by some for saying so. So be it. But someone please explain something to me:
If oil is considered a national security interest, meaning its so important to our national security that our nation would be threatened if we could not get it, then why do we allow its price to be controlled by the free market which, it should be pointed out, does NOT have our national interests at heart?
It is a Republican/Conservative myth that the “free market” will find the best solutions to problems. That is a lie. The free market will only find the most profitable solutions to problems, not the best. I suppose that’s okay if making money is more important to you than being safe. There is nothing unconstitutional about nationalizing oil. Our Constitution guarantees us that we will live in a republic (small ‘r’.) It does not guarantee us a capitalistic way of life. Nor should it, as Capitalism flies in the face of Equal Treatment Under the Law. Wealthy people are less likely to face prison time than non-wealthy people for committing the same crimes. Not because they are less guilty, but because they can use their wealth unfairly.
We need to re-think the role of Capitalism in this country. We can’t have every single thing be about how to make the most money from it. Instead, we should be thinking about how to benefit the most people. In the end, aren’t humans supposed to be more important than money?
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:39 amThere is such a thing as ethics where profits are concerned. That is why monopolies were supposed to be illegal. The lobbied for unethical destruction of regulations to prevent this gouging is the problem.
Are other countries gas prices going up at the same rate as they are here? No. If you can’t sort that out and put the blame where it belongs then you just don’t want to.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:04 amBecause of the example the effect of runaway profits demonstrated in the 1929 market crash. These activities have consequenses.
You who would and have de-regulated are responsible.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:08 amExcellent post at 8:39 Wayne.
Please vavoter tell us how great our country is now thanks to the “free market” It has been turned loose the last 7 years and where are we now? We are falling behind everyone and this “free market” bull is one of the main reasons.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:12 amI just don’t get it…..what part of record profits do you guys not understand……
what part of minimum wage is below poverty level do you guys not understand?
What part of 47 million Americans without health insurance and the majority that do have it are underinsured do you guys not understand.
Business did just fine under Clinton……
I am really sick of hearing how hard life is for corporations in the US
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:20 amIt’s obvious VA Voter doesn’t drive yet.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:25 amThey’re getting just what they wanted.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:40 amThis is part of why doofus junior was installed as their fearless leader.
These guys are making record profits by raping the American consumer and reich-wingers see nothing wrong with it. Says a lot.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:43 amWell I, for one, am quite glad that our WH saw the need and acted decisively to provide tax cuts for this struggling company!
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:10 amWayne A. Schneider Says:
We need to re-think the role of Capitalism in this country. We can’t have every single thing be about how to make the most money from it. Instead, we should be thinking about how to benefit the most people. In the end, aren’t humans supposed to be more important than money?
Well said, and I couldn’t agree with you more. What’s it gonna take to awaken the sleeping masses?
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:19 amI wonder why? It couldn’t be because the are a bunch of greedy BASTARDS woulc it? It wouldn’t be because both of our leaders are oil men would it? Is it because the traders are getting rich off all of the speculation of oil futures? Is it beause Bush wants to “replenish the ole cofers”? Is it because the Republican want to create two classes, one rich and one poor and dependant of the rich? Could it be because the Republicans want to create a country with low paying jobs like China, India, and other third world countries? The answer to all of those questions is YES, YES, YES, YES, YES,YES!
If all of those gun toting, bible thumping, beer drinking, going to church on Sunday, fools don’t wake up, we are going to become a third world country. Why? Look at what Bush former economic adviser admitted: “Shipping jobs overseas is good for America”. Remember that statement? The fools who vote Republican because they think being stupid is cool, are hurting the very thing they think they are protecting, the good ole US of A. Any fool with half a brain should see that the Republican party is the party of business and the rich. It’s not a party for hunters, who drink beer and live below the $100,000 a year level. These hard working people who make that kind of money don’t belong to a country club. Even if they tried to join, the elite Republicans who run it wouldn’t let them in. It’s like oil and water, they just don’t mix. Maybe the beer drinking, pick up truck driving class, think that by being Republicans gets them closer to the country club. I don’t know why the vote the way they do, it doesn’t make sense. Just think about it for a minute.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:59 amThere is nothing wrong with profit, but, the obscene windfall the oil industry has collected due to Bushco’s recklessly radical policies is lost to the American economy forever. If those profits were going to R&D, like developing hydrogen technology, I would have no complaints. However, the majority of the current petrodollars appear to be going into the portfolios of a select few.
And secret deals between industry and government go against all that once made our country great. To use the arguments they use to spy on us, against them, “innocent people have nothing to hide”. What crimes is the oil industry hiding?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 pmNationalize oil companies?!?!
That makes sense. I’d rather pay $8/gallon than $4/gallon…
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:10 pmThat makes sense. Like Venesuala where gas is 10 cents a gallon?
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:09 pmExxon are such thieves. The Alaska State just told them to “go to hell”. Exxon has had a field since 1977…no drilling…getting all the benefits of having lease and not drilling….now they say they want to drill because it would be lucrative….Alaska told them NO. Exxon has had drunk captians, have not paid families damaged during the Exxon Valdez spill…..still in court after 18 years….what a bunch of scumbags!!! Plus they were some of the benefactors of the Corrupt Bastards Club in the Alaska legislature about 3 years ago.
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:46 amI think the greed is being displayed by some of these bloggers. I cant believe some of you are so mad at a company making a profit. Since when is making a profit in America so bad. So evil? What profit is considered excesive? 1 dollar, 1 million dollars, 1 billion dollars?? Who decides? Since when does the Government decide that a private company is making too much money? Yes…gas is expensive, but honestly, I fill up my SUV once a week, so I’m paying on average $80 more a month for gas than a I did three years ago. $80 dollars?? that’s it! Are you kidding me.. The Liberal Media Machine would like to make you think that people are paying thousands more. Not the case, only $80 more a month. Heck, I pay over $120 a month to use the Toll road each month. If you really think $80-$100 a month is terrible, look at the prices of gas overseas.. over 15 countries pay TWICE the amount that we pay for gas and almost every county in the world pays more for gas than America.. so why are liberals/democrats crying that this is breaking us? I constantly hear that this is too much and people are dying.. they cant survive.. This is AMERICA and we pay one of the lowest amounts for gas in the world. Bottom-line… this is nothing but Politics.. and its an Election year.
Seriously, do really think its ok to go after a company because they make a profit?? Price Gouging??? (Lowest gas prices in the world).. Please… NEXT ARGUMENT…
May 16th, 2008 at 8:16 pm