Motley Fool: The media often depicts big oil companies such as ExxonMobil in a highly negative light -- awash in profits taken from consumers who suffer under the thrall of high gas prices. That's understandable given that 19 of the 25 highest annual profits ever recorded came from big oil companies; seven of those from Exxon, whose 2008 $45 billion annual profit is the largest in world history.
Furthermore, the media likes to quote the astronomical sales figures generated by these companies' scale. For example,...