This study examines the determinants of the salaries of private college and university presidents. Ordinary least squares estimates suggest that institutional size, performance, and prestige are linked to presidents' compensation. Pay is for performance. Externally recruited presidents are paid more than those promoted from inside, which confirms the relationship between pay and performance. As well, the impact of tenure is positive and significant, but its magnitude increases if a quadratic term is added. In contrast, there is evidence that larger class sizes and lower alumni giving rates are positively associated with compensation. Also, nondenominational institutions tend to pay more than religiously affiliated ones. In order to deal with potential simultaneous equations bias, the model was reestimated with two-stage least squares. Two-stage least squares causes enrollment's effect on earnings to increase. The impact of various school characteristics on longevity as president is also investigated. Probit models indicate that the acceptance rate is negatively associated with the probability of remaining in office.