Vie or Vying : compete eagerly with someone in order to do or achieve something

The athletes were vying for a place in the British team"

Billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has officially announced he is standing to be the Democratic Party presidential nominee.

In a statement, the 77-year-old said he was standing "to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America".

"The stakes could not be higher. We must win this election," Mr Bloomberg wrote.

He joins 17 other candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to take on Mr Trump in 2020.

As things stand, former Vice-President Joe Biden, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are the party's front-runners.

Who is Mr Bloomberg?

Michael Bloomberg is the eighth richest American with a net-worth of $54.4bn (£42bn), according to Forbes.

Born in Massachusetts, he started out in business as a Wall Street banker before going on to create the financial publishing empire that bears his name.

Over the years he has given millions of dollars to educational, medical and other causes - including political ones.

He staged a successful campaign to become New York mayor in 2001 and remained in office for three consecutive terms until 2013.

Rumours of presidential ambitions have surrounded him for more than a decade.