Bonuses paid to the heads of the 50 largest American companies grew by an average of 30.5% in 2010, which was a record increase in at least three years. These conclusions were reached by experts from the consulting firm Hay Group, who conducted an analysis for The Wall Street Journal .

The study looked at companies with annual revenues of at least $4 billion. Their top managers received $126.1 million in bonuses in 2010, up from $83 million the year before.

According to the executives themselves, the sharp rise in their income reflects improved profitability of the companies. The annual net profit of the 50 companies studied by Hay Group grew by 19.4%.

Under the US financial reform law, every US company with a market value of more than $75 million must give shareholders the opportunity to express their views on management bonuses at the annual meeting.

The new requirements led investors to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. and Beazer Homes USA Inc. refused to approve bonus packages for top managers.

One of the leaders in terms of the annual bonus was the head of Walt Disney, Robert Iger: the company's shareholders approved an increase in his bonus for the last financial year, which ended in October, by 45.4% - to $13.5 million.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz received the largest bonus in his biography for the 12 months ending October 3 - $3.5 million.

Chief Executive Officer of General Electric Co. Jeffrey Immelt was paid $4 million in cash for 2010. For two previous years, the CEO refused bonuses due to the company's weak financial results.

Bonuses for the heads of the 50 largest US companies grew by a third in 2010