Senator Bernie Sanders said America is not making “a fortune” off high gas prices, but Big Oil is. He said the average U.S. household got $2,000 poorer as a result of the Iran War, while Big Oil got $125 billion richer this year. He called to end the war and put a windfall profits tax on Big Oil. The Vermont independent posted the statement on Friday. No matching release appeared on his Senate site.
“No, Mr. Trump. America is not making “a fortune” off high gas prices, but your Big Oil pals are. The average U.S household got $2,000 poorer as a result of the Iran War, while Big Oil got $125 billion richer this year. End this war. Put a windfall profits tax on Big Oil,” Sanders wrote Friday. The post does not cite a source for the $2,000 or $125 billion figures. The characterizations are his.
Trump said at a midterm rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, on October 14 that the country is making more money than it has ever made because oil is so high and that Texas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota are making a fortune. That remark is on the public record of the rally. Sanders’s post addresses the claim directly. It does not quote the full Trump statement or cite a transcript.
The $125 billion figure tracks an August 2026 issue brief from the minority staff of the Joint Economic Committee. The brief states that more than 20 major oil and gas companies reported $125.2 billion in profits across the first and second quarters of 2026, combining roughly $40 billion in the first quarter with $85.2 billion in the second. It cites Chevron’s $12.1 billion second-quarter profit and Exxon Mobil’s $14.7 billion in the same period. Sanders’s post does not link the brief or name the committee. The $125 billion figure is his attribution of that analysis.
Sanders has previously addressed energy prices and the Iran conflict. On October 6 he wrote that the price of gas is $4.38 a gallon, heating oil $5.87 a gallon, and diesel $6.20 a gallon because of Trump’s illegal war in Iran, and that Big Oil made $125 billion in profits this year. That post is on his account. The Friday post uses the same $125 billion figure. It does not cite the earlier post.
The Energy Information Administration’s most recent weekly retail price data show the national average for regular gasoline at $4.331 per gallon and diesel at $6.179 per gallon for the week of October 12. Those figures appear in the EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update. No EIA report posted this week attributes a specific household cost of $2,000 to the Iran conflict. Sanders’s post states the $2,000 figure. That figure is his.
No White House release posted this week responds to Sanders’s statement or addresses the claim that America is not making a fortune off high gas prices while Big Oil is. The post stands as a public reply to Trump’s rally remarks. It does not propose specific legislative text for a windfall profits tax.
Other members have addressed energy prices and the Iran conflict this week. Those statements are on their accounts. Sanders’s post is limited to the contrast between household costs and Big Oil profits and the call to end the war and impose a windfall profits tax.
“America is not making “a fortune” off high gas prices,” “$2,000 poorer,” “$125 billion richer,” and “put a windfall profits tax on Big Oil” are Sanders’s. The Friday post, Trump’s October 14 rally remarks, the August JEC Minority issue brief, the EIA weekly prices, and the absence of an official EIA or White House attribution of the exact household figure are the records. The gap is between a senator stating that Big Oil got $125 billion richer this year from the Iran War while households got $2,000 poorer, and the absence of a same-day government confirmation of the household figure on an official page.