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For better or worse, these people’s decisions affect millions, shake industries, and change nations
It isn’t just wealth. And it isn’t just control over people or resources. No,true power is a potent combination of money and influence that enables people to help shape the world. But only a select group of people really possess the economic and political clout to effect global change.
Business Insider has compiled the following list of the world’s most powerful people — heads of state, billionaires, CEOs, and entertainers. To determine the ranking, we considered more than 100 of the most influential players in business, politics, and entertainment, and we evaluated their influence by using metrics in four major areas: economic power, command, newsworthiness, and impact — a subjective measure that captures how important they are in their respective spheres.
US President Barack Obama, leader of the world’s chief superpower, takes top honors, followed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, ruler of the a country making a serious challenge to US supremacy.
Read on to see the full list of the world’s 50 most powerful people right now:
50. Jay Z and Beyoncé
Win McNamee / Getty
Titles: Singer (Beyoncé), rapper and entrepreneur (Jay Z)
Country: US
Age: 34 (Beyoncé), 45 (Jay Z)
Music’s biggest power couple, Beyoncé and Jay Z turn nearly everything they touch into gold, which has helped them mint a combined fortune of $950 million.
Beyoncé shocked the music industry in 2013 when she released an albumon iTunes without promotion — it went on to sell over 5 million copiesthanks to hits like “Drunk in Love” and “Partition.”
Jay Z is consistently one of the highest earners in music, reportedly raking in $56 million last year through his many ventures, including his Roc Nation music label and its sports division. Though his streaming service, Tidal, encountered some turbulence — the hip-hop mogul himself forgot he owned it — Jay Z is still just about everywhere in the entertainment industry.
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