Equity Investments in the Managed Programs and Real Estate (Details 5) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Investments in Programs
Equity investments in real estate	$ 275,473	$ 249,403
CPA: 17 - Global
Investments in Programs
Equity method investment, ownership percentage	3.087%	2.676%
Equity investments in real estate	$ 87,912	$ 79,429
Real Estate Investments
Investments in Programs
Equity investments in real estate	141,991	128,041
Real Estate Investments | Third Party | Beach House JV, LLC
Investments in Programs
Equity investments in real estate	15,318	15,105
Existing Equity Investments | Real Estate Investments
Investments in Programs
Equity investments in real estate	$ 19,223	18,482
Existing Equity Investments | Real Estate Investments | CPA: 17 - Global | Waldaschaff Automotive GmbH and Wagon Automotive Nagold GmbH
Investments in Programs
Equity method investment, ownership percentage	33.00%
Equity investments in real estate	$ 9,507	6,949
Existing Equity Investments | Real Estate Investments | CPA: 17 - Global | C1000 Logestiek Vastgoed B.V.
Investments in Programs
Equity method investment, ownership percentage	15.00%
Equity investments in real estate	$ 9,381	11,192
Existing Equity Investments | Real Estate Investments | CPA: 17 - Global | Wanbishi Archives Co. Ltd.
Investments in Programs
Equity method investment, ownership percentage	3.00%
Equity investments in real estate	$ 335	341
Equity Investments Acquired in the CPA®:16 Merger | Real Estate Investments
Investments in Programs
Equity investments in real estate	$ 107,450	94,454
Equity Investments Acquired in the CPA®:16 Merger | Real Estate Investments | CPA: 17 - Global | The New York Times Company
Investments in Programs
Equity method investment, ownership percentage	45.00%
Equity investments in real estate	$ 70,976	72,476
Equity Investments Acquired in the CPA®:16 Merger | Real Estate Investments | CPA: 17 - Global | Frontier Spinning Mills, Inc.
Investments in Programs
Equity method investment, ownership percentage	40.00%
Equity investments in real estate	$ 24,288	15,609
Equity Investments Acquired in the CPA®:16 Merger | Real Estate Investments | CPA: 17 - Global | Actebis Peacock GmbH
Investments in Programs
Equity method investment, ownership percentage	30.00%
Equity investments in real estate	$ 12,186	$ 6,369