Investment in Securities (Summary of Investment in Securities) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2023	Dec. 31, 2022
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 1,640,771	$ 1,466,617
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		(310,544)	(164,198)
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		1,445,337	1,399,411
Gross Unrealized Gains		35,790	30,549
Gross Unrealized Losses		(117,053)	(179,698)
Investment Owned At Fair Value, Net		1,364,074	1,250,262
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)	[1],[2]	1,518,377	1,459,465
Securities sold short, at fair value		$ (154,303)	$ (209,203)
Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		4.78%	4.46%
Weighted Average Yield		5.71%	4.41%
Weighted average life		5 years 5 months 1 day	6 years 8 months 1 day
Long
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 1,798,051	$ 1,692,787
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		(310,520)	(168,822)
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		1,602,641	1,620,957
Gross Unrealized Gains		32,170	17,475
Gross Unrealized Losses		(116,434)	(178,967)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 1,518,377	$ 1,459,465
Long | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		4.95%	4.12%
Weighted Average Yield		5.99%	4.70%
Weighted average life		5 years 9 months 18 days	6 years 11 months 4 days
Long | 15-year fixed-rate mortgages
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 57,987	$ 140,409
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		252	4,613
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		58,239	145,022
Gross Unrealized Gains		22	0
Gross Unrealized Losses		(4,225)	(14,892)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 54,036	$ 130,130
Long | 15-year fixed-rate mortgages | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		2.58%	2.59%
Weighted Average Yield		2.42%	1.73%
Weighted average life		3 years 5 months 23 days	4 years 3 months 18 days
Long | 20-year fixed-rate mortgages
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 2,368	$ 7,253
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		114	380
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		2,482	7,633
Gross Unrealized Gains		0	0
Gross Unrealized Losses		(404)	(1,301)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 2,078	$ 6,332
Long | 20-year fixed-rate mortgages | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		2.29%	2.41%
Weighted Average Yield		1.48%	1.57%
Weighted average life		6 years 3 months	6 years 11 months 12 days
Long | 30-year fixed-rate mortgages
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 783,123	$ 846,582
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		(6,744)	20,961
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		776,379	867,543
Gross Unrealized Gains		4,313	228
Gross Unrealized Losses		(38,595)	(89,105)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 742,097	$ 778,666
Long | 30-year fixed-rate mortgages | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		4.04%	3.54%
Weighted Average Yield		4.04%	3.12%
Weighted average life		6 years 7 months 9 days	8 years 6 months 25 days
Long | Adjustable rate mortgages
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 5,252	$ 6,410
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		568	581
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		5,820	6,991
Gross Unrealized Gains		0	0
Gross Unrealized Losses		(690)	(737)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 5,130	$ 6,254
Long | Adjustable rate mortgages | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		3.81%	3.41%
Weighted Average Yield		2.09%	2.20%
Weighted average life		4 years 5 months 1 day	4 years 9 months 14 days
Long | Reverse mortgages
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 36,196	$ 29,658
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		3,928	3,511
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		40,124	33,169
Gross Unrealized Gains		34	0
Gross Unrealized Losses		(2,987)	(3,180)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 37,171	$ 29,989
Long | Reverse mortgages | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		5.37%	3.50%
Weighted Average Yield		3.55%	2.60%
Weighted average life		4 years 9 months 3 days	4 years 10 months 2 days
Long | Interest only securities
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		$ 11,891	$ 17,365
Gross Unrealized Gains		1,320	1,179
Gross Unrealized Losses		(499)	(1,652)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 12,712	$ 16,892
Long | Interest only securities | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		1.08%	1.36%
Weighted Average Yield		13.18%	10.11%
Weighted average life		5 years 4 months 9 days	5 years 3 months 25 days
Long | Non-Agency RMBS
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 427,431	$ 388,304
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		(139,654)	(130,167)
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		287,777	258,137
Gross Unrealized Gains		11,369	5,228
Gross Unrealized Losses		(29,672)	(24,475)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 269,474	$ 238,890
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		5.07%	4.33%
Weighted Average Yield		8.96%	7.29%
Weighted average life		4 years 8 months 23 days	5 years 8 months 26 days
Long | CMBS
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 74,591	$ 38,996
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		(20,389)	(17,722)
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		54,202	21,274
Gross Unrealized Gains		349	287
Gross Unrealized Losses		(11,780)	(6,992)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 42,771	$ 14,569
Long | CMBS | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		4.87%	2.54%
Weighted Average Yield		8.93%	8.43%
Weighted average life		4 years 8 months 19 days	8 years 3 months 29 days
Long | Non-Agency IOs
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		$ 35,214	$ 24,588
Gross Unrealized Gains		6,212	3,566
Gross Unrealized Losses		(2,650)	(1,182)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 38,776	$ 26,972
Long | Non-Agency IOs | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		0.17%	0.18%
Weighted Average Yield		14.57%	14.21%
Weighted average life		7 years 5 months 15 days	7 years 7 months 24 days
Long | CLOs
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		$ 44,939	$ 45,240
Gross Unrealized Gains		1,873	3,217
Gross Unrealized Losses		(8,834)	(17,396)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 37,978	$ 31,061
Long | CLOs | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		2.27%	2.16%
Weighted Average Yield		11.81%	9.37%
Weighted average life		4 years 5 months 15 days	3 years 21 days
Long | Asset-backed securities, backed by consumer loans
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 151,310	$ 115,604
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		(67,159)	(28,282)
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		84,151	87,322
Gross Unrealized Gains		1,577	278
Gross Unrealized Losses		(11,502)	(13,956)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 74,226	$ 73,644
Long | Asset-backed securities, backed by consumer loans | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		12.00%	11.87%
Weighted Average Yield		11.38%	13.42%
Weighted average life		1 year 6 months	1 year 2 months 15 days
Long | Corporate debt securities
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 30,944	$ 30,872
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		(23,191)	(23,337)
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		7,753	7,535
Gross Unrealized Gains		579	551
Gross Unrealized Losses		(291)	(553)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 8,041	$ 7,533
Long | Corporate debt securities | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		0.00%	0.00%
Weighted Average Yield		0.00%	0.00%
Weighted average life		1 year 11 months 4 days	2 years 1 month 28 days
Long | Corporate equity securities
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		$ 23,066	$ 9,799
Gross Unrealized Gains		1,851	2,941
Gross Unrealized Losses		(3,789)	(1,629)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		21,128	11,111
Long | U.S. Treasury securities
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		212,433	88,699
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		(49,289)	640
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		163,144	89,339
Gross Unrealized Gains		2,415	0
Gross Unrealized Losses		(496)	(1,917)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 165,063	$ 87,422
Long | U.S. Treasury securities | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		4.25%	3.58%
Weighted Average Yield		4.01%	3.46%
Weighted average life		7 years 5 months 4 days	7 years 21 days
Long | Other asset-backed securities
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ 16,416
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		(8,956)
Debt Securities, Available-for-Sale, Amortized Cost		7,460
Gross Unrealized Gains		256
Gross Unrealized Losses		(20)
Securities, at fair value(1)(2)		$ 7,696
Long | Other asset-backed securities | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		7.16%
Weighted Average Yield		13.85%
Weighted average life		2 years 5 months 26 days
Short
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ (157,280)	$ (226,170)
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		(24)	4,624
Investment Sold, Not yet Purchased, Sale Proceeds		(157,304)	(221,546)
Gross Unrealized Gains		3,620	13,074
Gross Unrealized Losses		(619)	(731)
Securities sold short, at fair value		$ (154,303)	$ (209,203)
Short | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		2.87%	1.94%
Weighted Average Yield		3.00%	2.29%
Weighted average life		1 year 9 months 7 days	4 years 9 months 25 days
Short | U.S. Treasury securities
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ (130,121)	$ (200,850)
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		533	6,132
Investment Sold, Not yet Purchased, Sale Proceeds		(129,588)	(194,718)
Gross Unrealized Gains		2,094	10,025
Gross Unrealized Losses		(619)	(731)
Securities sold short, at fair value		$ (128,113)	$ (185,424)
Short | U.S. Treasury securities | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		3.47%	2.18%
Weighted Average Yield		3.61%	2.60%
Weighted average life		1 year 10 months 17 days	5 years 1 month 28 days
Short | European sovereign bonds
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Current Principal		$ (27,159)	$ (25,320)
Unamortized Premium (Discount)		(557)	(1,508)
Investment Sold, Not yet Purchased, Sale Proceeds		(27,716)	(26,828)
Gross Unrealized Gains		1,526	3,049
Gross Unrealized Losses		0	0
Securities sold short, at fair value		$ (26,190)	$ (23,779)
Short | European sovereign bonds | Weighted Average
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Weighted Average Coupon		0.01%	0.01%
Weighted Average Yield		0.15%	0.04%
Weighted average life		1 year 2 months 12 days	2 years 2 months 1 day

[1] Ellington Financial Inc.'s Consolidated Balance Sheets include assets and liabilities of variable interest entities it has consolidated. See Note 12 for additional details on Ellington Financial Inc.'s consolidated variable interest entities.

[2] Includes assets pledged as collateral to counterparties. See Note 14 for additional details on the Company's borrowings and related collateral.