The salaries of top bosses have skyrocketed in recent years, widening the pay gap between CEOs and their employees, who by and large have seen their income stagnate. As regulators in the US and elsewhere force firms to disclose CEO-to-worker pay ratios, we reveal exactly how much 30 major company bosses around the world get paid compared to their staff.

Public companies in the US are now required by law to publish CEO-to-worker pay ratios. Last year, the typical boss of an S&P 500 company earned 287 times more than the average employee, but there are some striking exceptions. The lowest-paid boss on the Equilar 100 survey of CEO pay at America's 100 biggest firms, Berkshire Hathaway big cheese Warren Buffett earned a relatively modest $388,968 (£320k). That's just seven times more than the median worker's salary.

Executive pay can fluctuate wildly from year to year. According to Equilar, TripAdvisor head honcho Stephen Kaufer pulled in a bumper package of $47.9 million (£39.4m) in 2017, earning 481 times more than the median employee thanks to stock and option awards. Yet his pay packet shrunk last year by 95%, levelling out at just under $2 million (£1.6m), only 19 times more than the average worker's remuneration.

Broadcom CEO Hock E Tan also saw his compensation decrease by a whopping 95% in 2018 as featured on the Equilar 100. A fat bonus and one-time stock award inflated Tan's pay in 2017 to $103.2 million (£84.8m), 2,039 times more than the median employee, making him America's highest-paid executive. But last year, the boss of the tech giant earned just over $5 million (£4.1m), which was only 25 times more than the average employee's salary.

The boss of Europe's leading low-cost airline agreed to forgo his bonus last year due to a disastrous pilot shortage that plagued the company in Autumn 2017 and resulted in the cancellation of 2,000 flights. According to Skift's Highest-Paid European Travel CEOs round-up, O'Leary earned $2.6 million (£2.1m) in 2018, which is 62 times more than the average Ryanair employee's salary of $42,000 (£34.5k) as collated by PayScale.

Is L'Oréal's CEO Jean-Paul Agon really worth his hefty salary? The Times newspaper reported that the skincare and cosmetics executive was paid an average of $23.5 million (£19.3m) a year from 2013 to 2015, but his compensation has since dipped. LeRevenu magazine found that Agon received a package amounting to $8.7 million (£7.2m) last year, around 85 times more than the company's median salary of $101,973 (£83.8k) as reported by Paysa.

Chief executive salaries in Germany reached record levels last year with outgoing Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche being one of the highest-paid executives in the country. His 2018 pay packet totalled $9.2 million (£7.6m) according to The German Times. Figures from Paysa show the typical Daimler worker pocketed $92,154 (£75.7k), 100 times less than the company CEO.

One of three female executives in our round-up, Shemara Wikramanayake of Macquarie Group earned more last year than the combined pay of the CEOs of Australia's Big Four banks. Newspaper Stuff reports that her total compensation came in at $11.7 million (£9.6m), 104 times more than the median worker's salary of $112,596 (£92.2k) as collated by Paysa. Following America's lead, plans are afoot Down Under to force companies to reveal CEO-to-worker pay ratios.

Ditto the UK. Major firms in the country are now required to collect CEO-to-worker pay data and will be forced to publish the info from 2020, but the nation's biggest banks have jumped the gun and reported figures for 2018. Among them is HSBC. Its chief executive John Flint, who recently resigned from his position, earned $5.6 million (£4.6m) last year as stated by Reuters, 118 times more than the median worker's salary of $48,600 (£40k).

Back to the US where average CEO pay is higher than in any other country. Alfred Kelly, the CEO of credit card titan Visa, received total compensation of $19.5 million (£16m) in 2018 putting him in position 24 on the Equilar 100. This represents a decline of 10.3% from the previous year and works out at 147 times more than the median Visa employee's wage.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon was paid $20.7 million (£17m) in 2018, around 151 times more than the typical member of staff at the investment bank according to Equilar. The disparity is likely to widen this year: Solomon recently slashed employee compensation to mitigate a drop in profits.

While the CEOs of Britain's biggest banks are paid 120 times more on average than the median employee, several exceed this figure. Reuters recently revealed that Lloyds Banking Group has the most pronounced pay difference. Its chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio, who is the highest-paid in the sector, grossed $7.7 million (£6.3m), 169 times more than the typical employee salary of $45,000 (£37k).

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg scored a $13 million (£10.7m) bonus last year, pushing his total compensation up to $23.4 million (£19.2m), an increase of 38% compared to 2017. Average pay at Boeing is $127,131 (£104.5k), which translates to a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 184:1 according to Equilar.

At present, Canadian companies are under no obligation to report CEO-to-worker pay ratios, but a recent investigation by Le Journal de Montréal newspaper has revealed precisely how much certain bosses in the country are paid in relation to their staff. Dollarama CEO Neil Rossy for example took home just under $3 million (£2.5m) last year, 199 times more than the retailer's typical employee.

France's highest-paid CEO in 2018 by a significant margin, Dassault Systèmes top dog Bernard Charlès was awarded a super-generous package totalling $25.5 million (£21m) LeRevenu has found. According to Paysa, the median employee made $122,428 (£100.6k) last year, giving a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 208:1.

Stefan Heidenreich, who retired on 31 December 2018, was given a spectacular golden handshake, earning $26.1 million (£21.5m) last year according to The German Times. The total compensation awarded to the now former CEO of Beiersdorf, which owns a plethora of world-famous brands from Nivea to Elastoplast, works out at around 242 times more than the company's median wage as compiled by Paysa.

The highest-paid CEO among America's Big Three automobile manufacturers as reported by The Detroit News, General Motors boss Mary Barra was paid $21.9 million (£18m) last year, a small decrease compared to her 2017 compensation package, which stood at $22 million (£18.1m). The median salary for GM workers was $77,849 (£64k), so this gives the company a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 281:1.

The CEO of Canada's third-largest grocer Metro did very well for himself last year. Eric R La Flèche received a compensation package totalling just over $5 million (£4.1m). According to Le Journal de Montréal, the retail boss was paid 354 times more than the chain's average employee, who earned just $14,139 (£11.6k).

As is the case in many countries around the world, executive pay in India is rising fast. TechGig has revealed that during the 2018-19 fiscal year, the pay package awarded to Infosys CEO Salil Parekh came in at $3.6 million (£3m), which is 396 times more than what the typical employee made, and a stark increase from the previous tax year when the ratio was 273:1.

Staying in India, Wipro boss Abidali Neemuchwala was paid just over $4 million (£3.3m) in 2018, an increase of 41% compared to the previous year. The same TechGig investigation found that Remuneration in the IT and business processing company averaged out at a paltry $7,252 (£6k), giving a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 455:1.

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Last year, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora received a massive $125 million (£102.7m) in compensation according to The Wall Street Journal, making him America's second highest-earning boss. Be that as it may, the tech firm's CEO-to-worker ratio is less stark than expected as its median salary is a very respectable $223,885 (£183.9k) as reported by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

James Murdoch, CEO of the now-defunct 21st Century Fox, enjoyed a 125% pay rise during 2018, pushing his compensation up to $44.4 million (£36.5m). This places the Murdoch scion in position four on the Equilar 100. The median employee at the mass media company earned just under $60,000 (£49.3k), which makes for a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 741:1.

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Starbucks employees are entitled to all sorts of fabulous benefits from free college education to healthcare, so the fact the company CEO Kevin Johnson earned 1,049 times more than the typical member of staff last year is considerably less galling. In total, Johnson was awarded $13.4 million (£11m) in 2018 according to Equilar.

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Another Equilar 100 boss, the co-CEO of Oracle Safra Catz was paid $108.3 million (£89m) last year, more than any other female executive, but a shade under the sum received by her fellow CEO Mark Hurd, who was America's third highest-paid boss in 2018. This translates to a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 1,205:1.

Disney boss Bob Iger was recently called out for his excessive pay packet by activist Abigail Disney, who is the granddaughter of company co-founder Roy O Disney and Walt Disney's great-niece. She has described the compensation as "insane". Last year, Iger pulled in $65.6 million (£53.9m) according to Equilar, 1,424 times more than the typical Disney employee.

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Drum roll please, the highest-paid CEO in America last year as reported by CNN was Discovery's David Zaslav. The head of the entertainment network earned a humongous $129.4 million (£106.3m), up from $42.2 million (£34.7m) during 2017. Needless to say, the company's CEO-to-worker pay ratio has increased to 1,511:1.

CNN also found that the median worker at McDonald's grossed just $7,473 (£6.1k) in 2018, yet the CEO of the fast-food behemoth ended the year $15.9 million (£13.1m) richer – 2,124 times more than his employees. Still, Easterbrook actually received a pay cut in 2018 – his compensation in 2017 totalled an even more excessive $21.8 million (£17.9m).

Median pay isn't a whole lot better in the fast-casual dining sector. Cue Chipotle. According to CNN, the typical worker made a modest $13,779 (£11.3k) in 2018, which is 2,450 less than what CEO Brian Niccol pocketed. Niccol bagged a cash sign-on and equity award on top of his base salary, giving him total compensation of $33.5 million (£27.5m).

ManpowerGroup CEO Jonas Prising saw his remuneration fall by 5% in 2018, though we're sure he isn't complaining. The same probably can't be said for his employees. Another Equilar 100 CEO, the boss of the world's third-largest staffing company was granted $11.4 million (£9.3m) last year, while the median annual wage at the firm came in at a minuscule $4,563 (£3.7k), the lowest in our round-up.

The vast majority of Mattel employees are based in countries like Indonesia where pay tends to be a lot lower than in the US. As a consequence, the median worker's wage was just $5,489 (£4.5k) in 2018 according to CNN. This contrasts starkly against the compensation received last year by the toy firm's boss Ynon Kreiz, who earned almost $17 million (£14m).

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The most cavernous gap between CEO and typical employee's pay last year was at the Gap if you can excuse the pun. CNN has revealed that CEO Art Peck amassed $20.8 million (£17.1m) in 2018 while the median worker earned only $5,831 (£4.8k), creating a tremendous CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 3,566:1. The clothing retailer puts this down to the company's multitude of entry-level sales associates, many of whom work part time.

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