Business and Organization	3 Months Ended
Business and Organization	Mar. 31, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Business and Organization	Business and Organization W. P. Carey Inc. (“W. P. Carey”) is a REIT that, together with our consolidated subsidiaries, invests primarily in operationally-critical, single-tenant commercial real estate properties located in the United States and Northern and Western Europe on a long-term basis. We earn revenue principally by leasing the properties we own to companies on a triple-net lease basis, which generally requires each tenant to pay the costs associated with operating and maintaining the property. Founded in 1973, our shares of common stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “WPC.” On February 27, 2022, we, Corporate Property Associates 18 – Global Incorporated (“CPA:18 – Global”) (a publicly owned, non-traded REIT that primarily invests in commercial real estate properties and is advised by us), CPA:18 Limited Partnership (a subsidiary of CPA:18 – Global, “CPA:18 LP”), and certain of our subsidiaries entered into an agreement and plan of merger (the “Merger Agreement”), pursuant to which CPA:18 – Global will merge with and into one of our indirect subsidiaries in exchange for shares of our common stock and cash (the “Proposed Merger”). On April 4, 2022, we filed a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC to register the shares of our common stock to be issued in the Proposed Merger. On April 25, 2022, we filed a Form S-4/A, which was declared effective by the SEC on April 27, 2022. CPA:18 – Global intends to mail the proxy statement/prospectus contained therein to CPA:18 – Global’s stockholders in connection with the Proposed Merger in early May 2022. The Proposed Merger and related transactions are subject to a number of closing conditions, including approval by the stockholders of CPA:18 – Global at a special meeting scheduled for July 26, 2022. If this approval is obtained and the other closing conditions are met, we currently expect the transaction to close in early August 2022, although there can be no assurance that the Proposed Merger will be completed at such time or at all. Subject to the terms and conditions contained in the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Proposed Merger, each share of CPA:18 – Global common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Proposed Merger will be canceled and, in exchange for cancellation of such share, the rights attaching to such share will be converted automatically into the right to receive (i) 0.0978 shares of our common stock and (ii) $3.00 in cash, which we refer to herein as the Merger Consideration. Each share of CPA:18 – Global common stock owned by us or any of our subsidiaries immediately prior to the effective time of the Proposed Merger will automatically be canceled and retired, and will cease to exist, for no Merger Consideration. We elected to be taxed as a REIT under Section 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code effective as of February 15, 2012. As a REIT, we are not subject to federal income taxes on income and gains that we distribute to our stockholders as long as we satisfy certain requirements, principally relating to the nature of our income and the level of our distributions, as well as other factors. We also own real property in jurisdictions outside the United States through foreign subsidiaries and are subject to income taxes on our pre-tax income earned from properties in such countries. Through our taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRSs”), we also earn revenue as the advisor to certain non-traded investment programs. We hold all of our real estate assets attributable to our Real Estate segment under the REIT structure, while the activities conducted by our Investment Management segment subsidiaries have been organized under TRSs. At March 31, 2022, we were the advisor to the following entities (Note 3): •CPA:18 – Global; and •Carey European Student Housing Fund I, L.P. (“CESH”), a limited partnership formed for the purpose of developing, owning, and operating student housing properties and similar investments in Europe. We refer to CPA:18 – Global and CESH collectively as the “Managed Programs.” We no longer raise capital for new or existing funds, but currently expect to continue managing CPA:18 – Global and CESH through the end of their respective life cycles (Note 3). Reportable Segments Real Estate — Lease revenues from our real estate investments generate the vast majority of our earnings. We invest primarily in commercial properties located in the United States and Northern and Western Europe, which are leased to companies on a triple-net lease basis. At March 31, 2022, our owned portfolio was comprised of our full or partial ownership interests in 1,336 properties, totaling approximately 157 million square feet, substantially all of which were net leased to 356 tenants, with a weighted-average lease term of 10.8 years and an occupancy rate of 98.5%. In addition, at March 31, 2022, our portfolio was comprised of full or partial ownership interests in 20 operating properties, including 19 self-storage properties and one hotel, totaling approximately 1.4 million square feet. Investment Management — Through our TRSs, we manage the real estate investment portfolios for the Managed Programs, for which we earn asset management revenue. We may earn incentive revenue and receive other compensation through our advisory agreements with certain of the Managed Programs, including in connection with providing a liquidity event for CPA:18 – Global’s stockholders. In addition, we include equity income generated through our (i) ownership of shares and limited partnership units of the Managed Programs (Note 7) and (ii) special general partner interest in the operating partnership of CPA:18 – Global (through which we participate in its cash flows (Note 3)), in our Investment Management segment. At March 31, 2022, the Managed Programs owned all or a portion of 55 net-leased properties (including certain properties in which we also have an ownership interest), totaling approximately 10.7 million square feet, substantially all of which were leased to 47 tenants, with an occupancy rate of approximately 99.4%. The Managed Programs also had interests in 66 operating properties (totaling approximately 5.1 million square feet in the aggregate) and four active build-to-suit projects at the same date.