[zanny]

A business need not be corporate-profitable to pay its management lavishly. The university may not have shareholders or a dividend but that just means all the money it makes has to go somewhere, and that is often inflated salaries for the highest echelons of the school.

[M_Grey]

Don't forget power and influence.

Besides, there is also multi-billion dollar world of for-profit education.

[dexterdog]

What about the fact that most of the best-known schools have basically become massive hedge funds with nices educational institutions attached to them to keep the non-profit scam in play?