Business and Organization	12 Months Ended
Business and Organization	Dec. 31, 2023
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Business and Organization	Business and Organization W. P. Carey Inc. (“W. P. Carey”) is a real estate investment trust (“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 that are leased 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.” 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. In September 2023, we announced a plan to exit the office assets within our portfolio by (i) spinning-off 59 office properties into Net Lease Office Properties (“NLOP”), so that it became a separate publicly-traded real estate investment trust (the “Spin-Off”), and (ii) implementing an asset sale program to dispose of 87 office properties retained by us (the “Office Sale Program”), which is targeted to be completed in the first half of 2024. On November 1, 2023, we completed the Spin-Off, contributing 59 office properties to NLOP (Note 3). Following the closing of the Spin-Off, NLOP operates as a separate publicly-traded REIT, which we externally manage pursuant to certain advisory agreements (the “NLOP Advisory Agreements”). On August 1, 2022, a non-traded REIT that we previously advised, Corporate Property Associates 18 – Global Incorporated (“CPA:18 – Global”) merged with and into one of our indirect subsidiaries (the “CPA:18 Merger”) (Note 4). At December 31, 2023, we were the advisor to Carey European Student Housing Fund I, L.P. (“CESH”), a limited partnership formed for the purpose of developing, owning, and operating student housing properties in Europe (Note 5). We refer to CPA:18 – Global (prior to the CPA:18 Merger) and CESH collectively as the “Managed Programs.” 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 December 31, 2023, our portfolio was comprised of our full or partial ownership interests in 1,424 properties, totaling approximately 173 million square feet (unaudited), substantially all of which were net leased to 336 tenants, with a weighted-average lease term of 11.7 years and an occupancy rate of 98.1% (unaudited). In addition, at December 31, 2023, our portfolio was comprised of full or partial ownership interests in 96 operating properties, including 89 self-storage properties, five hotels, and two student housing properties, totaling approximately 7.3 million square feet (unaudited). Investment Management — We manage the real estate investment portfolios for NLOP and CESH, for which we earn asset management revenue and other advisory income and reimbursements. We may also be entitled to receive certain distributions pursuant to our advisory arrangements with CESH. At December 31, 2023, NLOP’s portfolio was comprised of its full or partial ownership interests in 55 properties. At December 31, 2023, CESH wholly owned one build-to-suit project.