RIDE-CT – Classic Cars Celebrating Classic Cars in Connecticut
With all that’s happening in the world and in the United States, it’s hard to be shocked or even mildly surprised by a headline on a news story. Another day, another outrage. Yet the words atop a story on “Carscoops” last week provided a reason to gasp, especially as car buyers are faced with an average vehicle price of approximately $50,000 and confronted as well by rising gas and electricity prices.
The headline read “Rivian sold 42,247 Cars And Paid Its CEO $403 million.” Both figures are for the calendar year 2025, according to company filings cited by “Carscoops.”
By comparison, the heads of General Motors and Ford received chump change in compensation. GM sold 2.8 million vehicles domestically and paid Mary Barra a mere $29.9 million, while Ford moved 2.2 million vehicles and paid Jim Farley a paltry $27.5 million.
How can these executives survive on such minuscule incomes?
Rivian founder and CEO R.J. Scaringe’s huge haul can be traced to stock options. His salary was only $1.12 million plus $26.6 million in stock awards – making his total in the vicinity of the other two CEOs – but he also received $373.5 million in options.
“Carscoops” noted that Barra and Farley “they look like they’re living on the bread line compared with Rivian’s boss.”
The automotive website also reported that Scaringe’s salary will increase to $2 million under a new deal and “he could net $4.6 billion through stock options if he grows the company’s stock price to $140 over the next 10 years.”
Rivian closed at $14.86 on Friday.
