Property Dispositions and Discontinued Operations - Narratives (Details) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			5 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($) property	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) property	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2014 EUR (€) property	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($) property	Jan. 31, 2014 USD ($) property
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Loss from operations							$ (203,489)	$ (178,740)	$ (211,170)
Properties sold | property		4
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax		$ 49,100
Real estate, at cost				$ 5,309,925			5,204,126	5,309,925
Allocation of goodwill to the cost basis of properties sold or classified as held-for-sale							34,405	1,762	3,762
Lease termination income			$ 32,200
Net investment in properties				5,011,145			4,801,400	5,011,145
Non-recourse debt				2,269,421			1,706,921	2,269,421
Assets held for sale				$ 59,046			26,247	59,046
CPA: 16 - Global
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Loss from operations					$ (91,100)
Net investment in properties												$ 1,970,175
Non-recourse debt												1,768,288
Assets held for sale												$ 133,415
Real Estate Investments
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Loss from operations							(188,095)	(151,284)	(199,061)
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax							71,318	6,487	1,581
Allocation of goodwill to the cost basis of properties sold or classified as held-for-sale							$ 34,405	$ 1,762	3,762
Number of real estate properties | property							903
Assets held-for-sale
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Number of real estate properties | property				2				2
Assets held-for-sale | CPA: 16 - Global
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Financing cost					$ 15,000	$ 15,000
Continuing Operations
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Allocation of goodwill to the cost basis of properties sold or classified as held-for-sale								$ 1,700
Proceeds from rental properties				$ 25,000
Capitalized termination income				22,200
Lease termination income				15,000
Extinguishment of debt, amount								36,500
Loss on the extinguishment of debt								(5,300)
Deposits received for real estate				$ 12,700
Continuing Operations | France
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Proceeds from the sale of properties | €										€ 1,000
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax									6,700
Net investment in properties									14,500
Non-recourse debt									$ 19,400
Continuing Operations | Assets held-for-sale
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Properties sold | property									13	13
Proceeds from the sale of properties									$ 45,600
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax	$ 600								(5,100)
Lease termination income									(8,400)
Loss on the extinguishment of debt								$ 2,100
Scheduled impairment expense									1,800
Impairment recognized on asset to be disposed									1,700		$ 100
Proceeds from sale of foreclosed assets	$ 1,400
Continuing Operations | Assets held-for-sale | Retail Facility
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Properties sold | property								13
Proceeds from the sale of properties								$ 35,700
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax								5,900
Scheduled impairment expense								6,000
Impairment recognized on asset to be disposed								2,700	3,300
Continuing Operations | Manufacturing Facility
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Contract selling price									5,800
Continuing Operations | Manufacturing Facility | Third Party Purchaser
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Contract selling price								1,400
Accounts receivable									5,500
Continuing Operations | Manufacturing Facility | Previous Tenant
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Contract selling price									$ 4,400
Continuing Operations | Domestic
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Properties sold | property									2	2
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax									$ (100)
Impairment recognized on asset to be disposed									3,500
Proceeds from sale of foreclosed assets									8,300
Carrying value of foreclosed property									8,300
Mortgage loans on real estate, foreclosures									8,500
Continuing Operations | Contracted Properties
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Impairment recognized on asset to be disposed									1,300
Contract selling price									$ 10,000
Number of properties held for sale | property									4
Discontinued Operations
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Allocation of goodwill to the cost basis of properties sold or classified as held-for-sale									$ 7,000
Discontinued Operations | Real Estate Investments
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Allocation of goodwill to the cost basis of properties sold or classified as held-for-sale									2,700
Discontinued Operations | Assets held-for-sale
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Proceeds from the sale of properties									116,400
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax									28,000
Loss on the extinguishment of debt									(100)
Number of properties held for sale | property											9
Payment of mortgage obligation									$ 11,400
Discontinued Operations | Assets held-for-sale | CPA: 16 - Global
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Proceeds from the sale of properties						123,400
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax						(300)
Loss on the extinguishment of debt						(1,200)
Payment of mortgage obligation						$ 18,900
Number of real estate properties | property									10			10
Assets held for sale												$ 133,400
Discontinued Operations | Assets held-for-sale | Jointly Owned Investments | CPA: 16 - Global
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Number of real estate properties | property												5
Level 3 | Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Impairment charges on properties							$ 52,300
Impaired properties | property							18
Level 3 | Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring | Continuing Operations
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Impairment charges on properties							$ 59,303	29,906	$ 23,802
Impaired Portfolio | Level 3 | Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Impairment charges on properties							$ 41,000
Impaired properties | property							14
Noncontrolling interest | Level 3 | Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Impairment charges on properties							$ 1,200	1,000
Continued Operations | Noncontrolling interest
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Loss from operations							$ (1,500)	$ (2,000)	$ 300
Discontinued Operations, Disposed of by Sale
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Properties sold | property							30
Proceeds from the sale of properties							$ 542,400
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax							42,600
Impairment charges on properties							7,000
Discontinued Operations, Disposed of by Sale | Real Estate Investments
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Allocation of goodwill to the cost basis of properties sold or classified as held-for-sale							34,400
Discontinued Operations, Disposed of by Sale | International Properties
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax							16,400
Real estate, at cost							39,800
Mortgage loans on real estate							60,900
Discontinued Operations, Disposed of by Sale | Domestic Properties
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax							11,600
Real estate, at cost							13,700
Mortgage loans on real estate							24,300
Escrow deposit							2,600
Discontinued Operations, Disposed of by Sale | Noncontrolling interest
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax							900
Discontinued Operations, Held-for-sale
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Proceeds from the sale of properties			44,400
Gain on sale of real estate, net of tax			$ (10,700)				600
Real estate, at cost							3,200
Mortgage loans on real estate							$ 4,500
Number of real estate properties | property				2				2