Income Taxes (Details Narrative) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Income tax description	The Tax Reform Act made broad and complex changes to the U.S. tax code, including, but not limited to, (1) reducing the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.
Effective income tax rate reconciliation, at federal statutory income tax rate, percent	21.00%
Minimum tax credit refundable	$ 100	$ 2,100
Net cash paid for income taxes	400	0
Valuation allowance	253,000	$ 237,900
Deferred tax liability valuation allowance	500
Operating loss carryforwards	$ 611,600
Income tax expiry description	2029
Income tax examination likelihood ownership percentage	This limitation could result if there is a more than 50 percent ownership shift in the GlassBridge shares within a three year testing period.
Unremitted foreign earnings in deferred tax liabilities related to foreign tax withholding	$ 600
Unrecognized tax benefits that would impact effective tax rate	600
Tax Reform Act [Member]
Operating loss carryforwards	2,600
State and Local Jurisdiction [Member] \| Tax Year 2037 [Member]
Operating loss carryforwards	323,600
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [Member]
Operating loss carryforwards	$ 609,000
Income tax examination likelihood ownership percentage	The Company's $609.0 million in federal net operating loss carryforwards generated through 2017 continue to be subject to the historical tax rules that allow carryforward for 20 years from origin, with the ability to offset 100 percent of future taxable income.
U.S. and Foreign Tax [Member]
Operating loss carryforwards	$ 21,300
Remainder tax credit carryforward expiration	Expire between 2019 and 2021, and the remainder of which will expire between 2022 and 2032.
U.S. and Foreign Tax [Member] \| Expire Between 2019 and 2021 [Member]
Operating loss carryforwards	$ 17,700
Federal Capital [Member] \| Expire Between 2019 and 2022 [Member]
Operating loss carryforwards	38,000
Foreign [Member]
Operating loss carryforwards	67,500
Foreign [Member] \| Indefinite [Member]
Operating loss carryforwards	22,200
Foreign [Member] \| Expire Between 2019 and 2021 [Member]
Operating loss carryforwards	1,600
Foreign [Member] \| Tax Year Upto 2027 [Member]
Operating loss carryforwards	43,700
2019 [Member]
Income tax refunds	1,100
2020 [Member]
Income tax refunds	500
2021 [Member]
Income tax refunds	300
2022 [Member]
Income tax refunds	$ 300

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