Private Empire

Coll’s reported history of ExxonMobil from the Valdez spill forward — a corporation with its own foreign policy, run on a discipline of capital allocation and safety metrics that outlasts any particular chief executive.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the replies to @WillManidis asking for the single best book that explains an entire industry — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved. The oil major as a sovereign entity.

Where I saw it: In the replies to @WillManidis asking “what is the single best book you can read that will explain an entire industry?” (June 2, 2025). Kyle recovered the reply list by hand and saved it to his “Books To Read” Apple Note; the full transcribed list lives on what is the single best book… (tweet).

Connections

• what is the single best book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• Energy — the industry the book explains.
• Company Building — the portfolio idea this sits closest to.