Big oil companies are raking in huge profits. Shareholders like Trump benefit. You pay for it with high gas prices.

Big oil companies made big money as the war in Iran caused U.S. drivers to hit the highest gasoline prices on record in the third quarter.

America’s two largest oil companies reported huge profit increases on Friday. ExxonMobil earned $15.4 billion in the third quarter, just over double what it earned a year ago, while Chevron’s adjusted profit rose 186 percent to $10.4 billion. Analysts predict that both companies could post record profits for the full year.

Global oil prices are soaring as the U.S.-Iran war drags on, leading to huge profits for oil companies and higher gasoline prices for American drivers. The national gasoline average in the third quarter was $4.12 per gallon, according to AAA, up 96 cents from last year and the highest on record for the quarter.

High gas prices pose a headache for the Trump administration as the midterm elections approach. Many voters are unhappy with what they pay at the pump. Farmers are also struggling to get diesel fuel to run their equipment during harvest, and some owners are paying record-high costs for fuel oil.

U.S. households have now paid an average of $1,184 more since the war began, thanks to more expensive gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, according to Moody’s Analytics.

But last week, President Donald Trump said the oil industry’s high profits were a good thing for Americans.

“Our country is making hundreds of billions of dollars because of what happened in the Middle East, because they’re coming to Texas and Oklahoma and Louisiana and taking this oil,” he said Saturday at a campaign event in Georgia. “We make a fucking fortune.”

The White House defended these comments to CNN.

“The president is emphasizing the United States’ position as the world’s largest oil producer and exporter,” a White House official told CNN. “By unleashing American energy dominance, he strengthened our national security and made our country richer. »

American oil companies are not the only ones profiting from high oil prices. London-based Shell Oil on Thursday reported third-quarter profit of $12 billion, up 127% from a year earlier.

One group that is definitely getting richer is those who invest in oil companies, including Trump himself.

Shares of ExxonMobil and Chevron are both up 52% ​​so far this year through Thursday’s close, and both were up about more than 1% in premarket trading Friday on earnings reports.

Democrats on the Joint Congressional Economic Committee found last weekend that, based on Trump’s financial disclosure documents, his stake in those companies increased by $35.8 million in the first half of this year, bringing his net oil and gas holdings to $81.6 million. Democrats also found that 94% of Trump’s oil and gas purchases in 2026 took place after the start of the war.

The White House said there was nothing inappropriate about the returns Trump made in oil stocks this year, and said the gains reflected the positive performance of stock markets under his administration that brought “real gains to American businesses and hard-working families.”

“Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has the ability to direct, influence or provide input on how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. “All investment decisions are made entirely by independent managers. There is no conflict of interest.”