He also compares jobs to people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. The oil executives were being used as a polar example of the kinds of opinions that people

He also compares jobs to people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. The oil executives were being used as a polar example of the kinds of opinions that people can have about the very wealthy. I don't believe the author was trolling. He was pointing out simply the variety of opinions that people often have about the very wealthy and the fact that Jobs seems to rise above it. The main point is not about good/evil, it's about fairness. You may think that it's fair that Jobs is so wealthy because he deserves it for all his hard work (and im not saying that he hasn't worked very hard and done a very good job at that). But the question is if it's fair. Warren Buffett admitted that he didn't think it was particularly fair that he is as wealthy as he is, or (more recently) that he pays as little in taxes as he does.