So much more to this story. Exxon had insurance which paid. The rest was a "write-off" against the 5 Billion profit the year of the original judgement. The US Government even rewarded Exxon and allowed the merger with Mobil, making it the largest oil Giant in the world. Now ExxonMobil makes 40 Billion a year. The current reduced fine is 2.5 Billion, or 2 weeks of Exxon profits. Puleese! Punitive is suppose to be punishment. There are at least two types of Justice in this country: One for the rich, and one for the poor saps who work for a living. If you or I behaved in such an arrogant and thoughtless manner which resulted in such wide-spread suffering and long term degradation, we would be punished to the tune of bankruptcy. What you can do: DUMP YOUR EXXON STOCK NOW! If you have a 401K plan, ask the manager to dump exxon. The only thing Exxon cares about is it's stock prices. Then it needs to be splintered up like Standard Oil was once it got too big. We have abrogated our democracy to wall street, and this is the justice we can continue to expect.