Billionaire property tycoon and political outsider Donald Trump has beaten Hillary Clinton to become the next president of the United States.
Trump rode a wave of populism and anti-establishment sentiment to take control of most battleground states and claim a result that few pollsters predicted.
His victory heralds a new era in US politics, after he convinced those who have felt left behind in an increasingly global world that he could bring change and “make America great again”.
After running a divisive campaign that has seen him insult women, black people, Muslims, and Mexicans, he managed to convince the majority of the American people that they wanted a different path to that offered by the political establishment.
The white working class vote deserted the Democratic party in droves, with white men and women without a college degree voting overwhelmingly for Trump. It was this demographic that lost Clinton the election in battleground states in the Midwest, and eventually the presidency.
In down ballot votes, the Republicans also maintained control of the House and Senate, giving the party complete control of both the executive and legislature for nearly a century.
On the financial markets, the Trump victory resulted in a crash for the value of the US dollar and a slump in the Dow Jones, with analysts uncertain about what a future Trump presidency will bring.
