According to data from the Office for Students (OfS) the UK’s higher education regulator, six universities in England paid their vice chancellors (VC) more than £500,000 in salary, bonuses and benefits in 2018 while nearly half of VC’s received more than £300,000.

These findings have generated a predictable volume of criticism at a time when many universities are experiencing financial stress.

Nonetheless, the remuneration packages paid to even the best paid VC falls well behind that of the highest paid director of Oxford University Endowment Management Ltd (OUEM), which manages the charitable endowments of Oxford...