How well paid are CEOs at Amazon, McDonald’s and 13 other top US brands compared to the typical worker?

CEOs made 20 times their median employee’s salary in 1965. As of 2017, at America’s largest companies, that multiple has jumped up to a shocking 312.

At many companies, the CEO-to-worker compensation ratio is even higher. The CEO of McDonald’s earned 3,101 times the median worker in 2017 (US$21,761,052 versus US$7,017). That is partially because McDonald’s employs workers all over the world, where the cost of living is often lower than the US.

Another reason for the jump in CEO compensation is a new perspective on how company earnings should be distributed. For the past few decades, as The New York Times reported, most corporate profits have been going to corporate investors and chief executives, whose compensation is often based on stocks, or foreign mergers and acquisitions.

Meanwhile, proposals to raise worker compensation faced resistance from major shareholders. When American Airlines announced last year they would be giving raises to pilots and flight attendants, the company’s stock tanked by 5.2 per cent in one day.

In 2018, the public finally got to understand just how much more CEOs are paid than their workers. The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 requires, among other provisions, companies to disclose their company’s CEO-to-worker compensation ratio. That part of the law came into effect this year.

Here are 15 major employers and how their CEO’s salary compares to their global median employee, ranked from the smallest difference to the biggest:

Twitter: CEO earned 0 times the median worker

Number of employees: 3,372

CEO compensation: US$0

Median worker compensation: US$161,860