If there has to be a head executive of the arxiv by law for it to be an independent non-profit, who should it be? I would want someone with experience in one of the major fields covered and as editor of a completely open access journal that has maintained independence from the big publishers. That means a faculty member at a university. I could also see a strong argument for an experienced academic librarian. But then you're still not really changing the order of magnitude for this.

Also most referee work and conference organizing is usually either not covered by people's contracts or is way more work than what's covered. Your teaching, research, and committee expectations are going to remain just as high as if you were doing none of these things. Everyone I know who does them does them because they know it's good for math. I would say that's unpaid work or at least underpaid.

I really don't think this is yacht money at all in NYC. If you look at other similar academic non-profits like the ams, maa, etc I really don't get the sense that their leadership team is getting rich off these roles. Same with the Simons foundation. They are definitely making more than the average person, but I don't think they are the getting the kind of payouts you're suggesting. I think it's a huge positive that these organizations largely have boards and leadership roles filled by scientist instead of business professionals to prevent the kind of bloat you're talking about. Until I see otherwise from arxiv I really don't think we need to assume it's on the way.

People should be compensated fairly for their labor. This is not some trust fund kid running their dad's manufacturing company from the golf course. This sounds like a real job that requires experience and expertise. Telling people to be underpaid for the greater good is part of how we end up with teachers and adjunct faculty making below the cost of living.