Anita Raghavan, 06.29.09, 02:00 PM EDT

LONDON — RBS Group Chief Executive Stephen Hester’s 9.6 million pound ($15.8 million) pay package came under fire yesterday, animating a conference at the London Business School.

An American entrepreneur living in London challenged John Kingman, the chief executive of UK Financial Investments Ltd., on Hester’s pay.

“The government owns this bank and sets a compensation package of 9.6 million pounds,” said the entrepreneur who was sitting in the audience. “I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

When the moderator of the panel challenged the questioner, asking him how would he feel if someone tried to begrudge him that kind of money if he earned it as an entrepreneur, the questioner, to resounding applause, responded: “The government doesn’t own my business.” He said Hester’s package sent “completely the wrong message to entrepreneurs.”

The entrepreneur’s comments–and the response he received from the audience–highlighted the anger that the bailout of the banking sector has sparked in the United Kingdom.

Kingman, who heads UK Financial Investments, a company that was set up to manage the government’s investments in the banking sector, said that if Hester does as well as published reports about his pay say he does, “I will be extremely happy because the taxpayer will make a huge profit on their investment.”