Money

I was thinking this afternoon about the BP mess and the figures being tossed about pertaining to – clean up bill – a few billion, lost revenue in the gulf – ten’s of billions, seemingly big figures and yet – BP stock is up about 25% from its “spill” lows.  BP stock is up something like $30billion in value over the past several weeks!  The value of BP today is about $120Billion – down from around $250Billion at it more stabilized high range.

So – these are big numbers – but I wondered how big are theyreally?

Well – lets pick four oil firms – BP, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and Chevron – how do they look as a group?

The four together have revenue of over $1 Trillion US dollars per year!  No kidding – over $1 Trillion dollars.  That is a lot of income!  In fact as a group that is more annual income then all but 11 countries in the world – and is about a tie for 12th spot with Russia.

Is money power?  Yes, and it is really no surprise that as an industry oil can have its way with global political leaders.  Just think – short of using bullets – the financial power of these four firms is concentrated into four men – CEO’s, who answer to boards – so maybe 40, or 50 people all together – that is amazing.

I do remain (generally) committed to my free-market roots, but also think it is important for citizens to consider the incentives, wealth, and persuasive power of these firms.

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