The electric vehicle (EV) movement began decades ago — some would even say it began a century ago when battery-powered carriages roamed city streets. But Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) is largely responsible for the growing ubiquity of electric vehicles in the United States.
Chasing Tesla’s success, most traditional automakers have also begun to produce both fully electric and plug-in hybrid models to capitalize on the EV boom.
Just as Musk was ramping up production and marketing Tesla cars more than a decade ago beginning with the Model S, other entrepreneurs were also emerging on the EV scene, albeit more quietly. RJ Scaringe, his doctorate still fresh, founded EV automaker Rivian Automotive (RIVN) in 2009 with a vision — similar to Musk’s — to mass produce daily-driver EVs for the public.
💰💸 Don’t miss the move: SIGN UP for TheStreet’s FREE Daily newsletter 💰💸
Now, more than 15 years later, Scaringe’s wealth has grown significantly and could be expected to grow even more should his company meet its targets. Here’s how much the Rivian founder and CEO is worth in 2025 — and how much he takes home in compensation.
Who is RJ Scaringe? His background & education explained
Robert Joseph Scaringe was born in Rockledge, Florida, on January 19, 1983. His father was an engineer who owned his own business, and the younger Scaringe grew up as an auto enthusiast.
Scaringe graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in mechanical engineering in 2009 and received his PhD — with a focus on automotive powertrain systems, lean manufacturing, and operations systems — at the Sloan Automotive Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009.
In the same year, after graduating from MIT, Scaringe started Rivian and developed the first Rivian model from inception, applying his skills and knowledge to create the innovative mockups that would become his vehicles.
Rivian unveiled its two initial lines of EVs, an SUV and a pick-up truck, in 2018. Three years later, the company started delivering in 2021. Rivian — with financial support from Ford Motor Company (F) and Amazon (AMZN) — expanded to making commercial vehicles, including the delivery vehicles used by Amazon to deliver packages to customers’ doors.
Related: Elon Musk’s net worth: Inching toward trillionaire status
What is RJ Scaringe’s net worth in 2025?
Scaringe’s net worth is largely tied to his shares in Rivian. A Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that, as Rivian CEO, he held 3.5 million shares. As of mid-January 2025, that 0.3% stake in Rivian was valued at $48 million.
A real-time capture of Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s wealth based only on his stake in Rivian can be found here.
According to Forbes, Scaringe used to be a billionaire, with a net worth of $1 billion in 2020 and $3.4 billion in 2021. And should Rivian move into profitability in the years to come, it's highly likely that he could become a billionaire once again.
RJ Scaringe’s salary and compensation as CEO
Scaringe had an annual salary of $1 million in 2024, unchanged from 2023. Still, that was up from the $650,000 per year he made in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Still, as CEO, he’s also been provided with a lucrative compensation package contingent on the performance of the company and its stock price. Typically, the award of new stock and higher pay is tied to the company’s bottom line, and Rivian hasn’t been profitable since at least 2020.
In 2021, the board and stockholders approved a stock option plan for Scaringe totaling 20.3 million shares should the price reach between $110 and $295 between 2027 and 2030. That would suggest the stock would have to rise significantly from recent levels.
As of mid-January 2025, Rivian was trading at around $14 a share. The stock has declined sharply from its first day of trading on November 10, 2021, when it closed above $100. At one point, Rivian’s stock was as high as $172.
Hitting those stock targets a few years from now would put Scaringe well into billionaire territory.
More on net worth:
- Jeff Bezos' net worth: How Amazon’s founder & world's richest man spends his billions
- Jensen Huang’s 2025 net worth & salary as Nvidia CEO
- Lisa Su’s net worth: How she saved AMD & built her wealth
How does RJ Scaringe spend his money?
Scaringe has other endeavors outside of his EV business. Scaringe, who is vegan, has plans to restore an old farm across from Rivian's assembly plant in Normal, Illinois, to provide fresh food for his employees, according to Forbes.
Scaringe also focuses on investing in renewable energy. Rivian’s Normal factory has a wind turbine and solar parking canopy to supply renewable energy that is sufficient to charge more than 150,000 electric vehicles each year.
Related: Peter Thiel’s net worth: How the controversial Palantir founder made his money
Quick facts about RJ Scaringe
- Born: January 19, 1983
- Spouse: Meagan McGone (wife since 2014)
- Education: BA, mechanical engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; master’s, mechanical engineering, MIT; PhD, mechanical engineering, MIT’s Sloan Automotive Lab
- Role: CEO and founder, Rivian
- Salary: $1 million
- Net worth: At least $48 million as of last update; varies with Rivian stock price
Related: Veteran fund manager issues dire S&P 500 warning for 2025
