Business Insider recently released its list of the 50 most powerful people in the world, and almost halfhail from the United States.Between political leaders, billionaires, CEOs, and entertainers, the world's top superpower ischock-full of people who possessthepotent combination of money and influence that enables them to help shape the world.To determine ourranking, we considered more than 100 of the most influential players in business, politics, and entertainment, and evaluated their influence using metrics in four major areas: economic power, command, newsworthiness, and impacta subjective measure that captures how important they are in their respective spheres. We then pulled the top-ranking Americans and re-ordered the list. You can read thefull methodology here.US President Barack Obama topped the entire list. Business mogul Warren Buffett came in at No. 2in the US, and fifthoverall.Read on to see which other Americans command serious power.Editing by Alex Morrell with additional research by Andy Kiersz.SEE ALSO:The 50 most powerful people in the worldDON'T MISS:The 50 most powerful companies in America24. Jay Z and BeyoncTitles: Singer (Beyonc), rapper and entrepreneur (Jay Z)Country: USAge: 34 (Beyonc), 45 (Jay Z)Music's biggest power couple, Beyonc and Jay Z turn nearly everything they touch into gold, which has helped them mint a combined fortune of $950 million.Beyonc shocked the music industry in 2013 when she released an album on iTunes without promotionit went on to sell over 5 million copies thanks 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 turbulencethe hip-hop mogul himself forgot he owned itJay Z is still just about everywhere in the entertainment industry.23. Sheldon AdelsonTitle: Chairman, CEO of Las Vegas SandsCountry:USAge:82The "King of Las Vegas" is expected to dole out millions by this time next year, taking a gamble on one of his favorite things: politics. The casino magnate, who owns 13 private jets, is a staunch supporter of the Republican party, famously donating tens of millions fromhis $25 billion fortune to past candidates such as Newt Gingrich.For his day job, he runs Las Vegas Sandsparent of the Venetian Resort and Casino andSands China, a subsidiary that's planning to open its fifth casino in Macau next year. And while Adelsons vision to make China the gambling capital of the worldisn't outlandish considering his industry dominance, it may not pan out under political restrictions and President Xi Jinping's push to make Macau a family-friendly destination. Amid the flux, Sheldons fortune has reportedly lost several billions in the past year after a 25% decline in the price of Las Vegas Sands stock.22. Ginni RomettyTitle: Chairman, CEO of IBMCountry: USAge: 58Last year, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty had to break some tough news: The tech company would be abandoning its years-long promise to hit $20 earnings per share by 2015. But the company's top leader has hatched a new plan: IBM will invest $4 billion to grow $40 billion in revenue in areas such as cloud computing, mobile, and big data by 2018. The plan would nearly double what IBM is making in these markets now, though it also means straying from the hardware focus that's defined IBM for decades.Rometty's mandate is to keep one of tech's most iconic companieswhich employs 380,000 people, on par in size with the population of New Orleansrelevant and profitable for the long haul, even if it means changing some of the most fundamental things about the company. The IBM lifer isn't apologizing for adapting. "Reinvention is not about protecting your past," she said at the Fortune Global Forum earlier this year.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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