Property Dispositions - Narratives (Details) $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended						3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Jun. 05, 2018 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2019 USD ($) property	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) property	Jan. 31, 2017 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) property	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) property	Apr. 30, 2018 property
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Number of properties sold (property) | property								12	39	25
Gain (loss) on sale of real estate, net of tax								$ 17,500	$ 99,600	$ 11,900
Proceeds from repayment of loans receivable			$ 10,000	$ 9,300							$ 19,707	$ 488	$ 436
Loss on collection of loans receivable				$ 100
Investments in real estate		$ 13,848,730			$ 13,493,036			13,848,730	13,493,036		13,848,730	13,493,036
Non-recourse mortgages, net		1,462,487			2,732,658			1,462,487	$ 2,732,658		1,462,487	2,732,658
Gain on sale of real estate, net											18,143	118,605	33,878
Amount reclassified from other comprehensive income											13,085	16,101	9,201
Purchases of real estate											717,666	719,548	31,842
Disposal group, non current asset							$ 28,100
Disposal group, non current liability							28,100
Disposal group, restricted cash							3,800
Loss on sale of real estate							$ 100
Foreign currency forward contracts | Gain on sale of real estate, net | Derivatives in Net Investment Hedging Relationships
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Amount reclassified from other comprehensive income					(7,600)						0	7,609	0
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss to | Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Gain on sale of real estate, net					$ 20,200	$ 3,400						$ (20,226)	$ (3,388)
International Properties
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Number of real estate properties (property) | property							2
Land building and improvements
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Gain (loss) on sale of real estate, net of tax	$ 6,300
Number of real estate properties (property) | property					15	2			15			15	2
Number of properties disposed of | property	23
Purchases of real estate											$ 737,500	$ 806,900	$ 31,800
Land building and improvements | Manufacturing Facility in Bessemer, Alabama
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Purchases of real estate	$ 85,500
Discontinued operations, disposed of by sale
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Number of properties sold (property) | property											14	49	16
Proceeds from the sale of properties											$ 308,000	$ 431,600	$ 159,900
Gain (loss) on sale of real estate, net of tax											10,900	112,300	33,900
Gain on sales of real estate, applicable tax											$ 1,200	$ 21,800	$ 5,200
Discontinued operations, disposed of by sale | Land, buildings and improvements and intangibles
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Number of properties sold (property) | property											16
Discontinued operations, disposed of by sale | Properties in Australia
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Number of properties sold (property) | property					28
Discontinued operations, disposed of by sale | Property in Malaysia
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Number of properties sold (property) | property													2
Discontinued operations, disposed of by sale | Hotel | Land, buildings and improvements and intangibles
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Number of real estate properties (property) | property														1
Disposal by means other than sales | Six Properties Transferred
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Number of real estate properties (property) | property			6
Investments in real estate			$ 42,300
Mortgage carrying value			43,400
Non-recourse mortgages, net			56,400
Gain (loss) on disposal of property			8,300
Write off of unamortized debt discount			13,800
Write off of interest payable			$ 5,600
Disposal by means other than sales | Property Transferred In December 2019
Discontinued Operation Additional Disclosures
Investments in real estate		10,400						10,400			$ 10,400
Mortgage carrying value		8,200						8,200			8,200
Non-recourse mortgages, net		8,700						$ 8,700			$ 8,700
Gain (loss) on disposal of property		(1,000)
Write off of unamortized debt discount		500
Write off of interest payable		$ (900)