Typically, I wouldn’t go out of my way to call out CEO compensation, where “out of my way” means highlighting examples of exorbitant executive pay outside of some broader socioeconomic discussion.

To be sure, I’ve broached the subject in these pages on too many occasions to count over the years, but typically I use aggregates (e.g., the ratio of CEO to worker compensation) to make big-picture points about what I view as deleterious societal trends.

However, given the unfortunate geopolitical circumstances in eastern Europe, the read-through of those circumstances for energy prices and the extent to which windfall profits for Western supermajors have prompted a political backlash inside the Beltway, I think it’s worth noting that Exxon CEO Darren Woods got a substantial pay raise in 2022, a year during which Exxon hauled in almost $60 billion.

Woods’s total reported pay was $35.9 million last year, up more than 50%, according to a Thursday filing.

If you’re wondering how that measures up to his peers, the answer is quite well. Chevron chief Mike Wirth made a mere $23.6 million last year, just 4% more than 2021.

Although Shell’s Ben van Beurden got a raise on par with Woods’s in percentage terms, van Beurden’s $12 million package looked paltry compared to his US-based counterparts.

I suppose you could argue Woods deserved his comp. Exxon reported almost $13 billion in profits in Q4 on the heels of a near $20 billion haul the prior quarter. Q3 2022 was the most profitable quarter for Exxon in 152 years of corporate history.

All told, the company’s profit in 2022 was $59 billion, a record.

The Biden administration has chafed at the blockbuster profits reported by Exxon and Chevron. Both Woods and Wirth were castigated by the White House as profiteers, and Chevron’s buybacks are seen by the Oval Office as particularly noxious.

I think it’s fair to say Biden’s efforts to galvanize public opinion vis-à-vis the role of America’s energy giants in elevated pump prices last year weren’t especially successful. The administration has taken credit for bludgeoning prices lower with repeated SPR draws, but now the Saudis are pushing back. And clean energy priorities will continue to weigh on fossil fuel capex.

At the end of the day (and it pains me somewhat to say this), it’d be better for the White House to cooperate with Exxon and Chevron instead of vilifying them. If it’s oil villains Americans want, there’s a cartel that’ll be more than happy to play that role.