American's wallets are being emptied daily as people are paying record prices to fill up their gas tanks, and the oil companies that drivers pay are seeing record-breaking increases in profit.

The "big five" oil companies -- Exxon Mobile, Shell, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips -- reported total profits of $556 billion since 2001, according to the Center for American Progress.

Exxon's $40.6 billion profit in 2007, the Center for American Progress said, is roughly equal to making $77,245 every minute -- that's more money earned every minute than 70 percent of Americans earned all year, according to the Census Bureau.

The New York Times said that Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, had a net income increase of 17 percent in the first quarter this year.

Shell is also breaking records with a $31.3 billion profit in 2007, which was 23 percent higher than its 2006 profit. Soaring oil prices lifted Chevron Corporation's annual profit to $18.7 billion in 2007, the fourth consecutive year that the San Ramon company made record profits, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The profits are still boosted by $18 billion in tax breaks. The House voted last year and again in February to end these tax breaks and use the money for renewable energy sources, but this has not passed the Senate and President George W. Bush has promised a veto.

Not only are oil companies seeing an increase in profit, so are the executive's personal salaries. Chevron's CEO, David O'Reilly's compensation jumped significantly from 2006. According to Forbes, O'Reilly's total compensation was $8.8 million, below the industry average of $9.76 million.

In 2007, O'Reilly made around $31 million in salary, bonus and other long-term compensation, and holds stock options worth more than $34 million.

Exxon Mobile head Rex Tillerson made more than $16.7 million in salary and bonus in 2007, up from $13.16 million in 2006.

Despite the public frustration expressed toward oil and gas executives for the rising prices, other industry heads are also taking home hefty paychecks.

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer has total compensation of $1.2 million, while Jeffrey Kindler, CEO of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, takes home about $9.5 million.

WHO	SALARY	TOTAL COMPENSATION	STOCK VALUE
Median Household Income	$48,000	N/A	N/A
John Carrig, CFO, ConocoPhillips	$817,500	$16,416,379	$15,546,225
Rex Tillerson, CEO, Exxon Mobil	$1,750,000	$16,726,742	$9,832,947
David O'Reilly, CEO, Chevron	$1,650,000	$31,543,185	$34,425,403
J. Van Der Veer, CEO, Royal Dutch Shell	1,775,000 euros	4,692,909 euros	N/A
Tony Hayward, CEO, BP	877,000 pounds	2,153,000 pounds	N/A
Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft	$620,000	$1,279,821	N/A
Jeffrey Kindler, CEO, Pfizer	$1,462,500	$9,513,440	N/A
Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix	$850,000	$2,418,577	$36,452,238
Leslie Moonves, CEO, CBS	$5,323,367	$36,816,827	$6,647,781
Source: Forbes, U.S. Census Bureau Note: Executive pay as of end of 2007 fiscal year. U.S. Median household income as of 2006.