Rivian Founder RJ Scaringe No Longer A Billionaire After Stock Dip

Rivian founder RJ Scaringe isn’t a billionaire anymore. 

The electric car CEO and founder’s net worth fell to $930 million Thursday, Forbes estimates, after Rivian’s stock price continued its second day of losses. Since Tuesday, the company’s shares have tumbled 17% to $50.91 per share as of market close Thursday.

A spokesperson for Rivian declined to comment on Scaringe’s net worth.

Investors responded poorly when Rivian announced earlier this week that it was increasing prices on its electric vehicles by as much as 20%, garnering significant backlash from customers. The stock price fell further Thursday after Rivian partially reversed course by canceling the price jump on preorders placed before March 1.

In a letter to shareholders, Scaringe said the rising cost of materials needed to make its electric vehicles, including semiconductors to sheet metal, was responsible for the price hike. He acknowledged, however, that the company made a mistake by applying the price increase to all pre-existing configured preorders.

“We broke your trust in Rivian,” Scaringe wrote.

In the nearly four months since Rivian’s blockbuster IPO, its shares have declined 35%, erasing $2.47 billion in Scaringe’s fortune. Before the company went public, Scaringe’s was rich enough to land on The Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans in August worth an estimated $3.4 billion. 

Excitement over Rivian potentially becoming the next big competitor to Tesla
TSLA
made its IPO one of the biggest in 2021, with shares debuting at $78. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, meanwhile, remains the richest person in the world with a net worth of $230.6 billion, though Musk’s fortune has  taken a tumble since its peak in January when he was worth $304 billion.