Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Goodwill) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 27, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012 Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Segment [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Real Estate Equity Investments [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Energy Infrastructure [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Energy Infrastructure [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Aviation [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Aviation [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Healthcare [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Healthcare [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Transportation [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Transportation [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Home and Business Solutions [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Home and Business Solutions [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 GE Capital [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 GE Capital [Member]
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Goodwill	$ 73,162,000,000	$ 73,162,000,000			$ 72,625,000,000	$ 970,000,000		$ 21,287,000,000	$ 21,090,000,000	$ 5,958,000,000	$ 5,996,000,000	$ 16,726,000,000	$ 16,631,000,000	$ 714,000,000	$ 551,000,000	$ 1,139,000,000	$ 1,127,000,000	$ 27,338,000,000	$ 27,230,000,000
Intangible assets subject to amortization	11,516,000,000	11,516,000,000			11,863,000,000
Indefinite-lived intangible assets	193,000,000	193,000,000			205,000,000
Total	11,709,000,000	11,709,000,000			12,068,000,000
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	73,162,000,000	73,162,000,000			72,625,000,000	970,000,000		21,287,000,000	21,090,000,000	5,958,000,000	5,996,000,000	16,726,000,000	16,631,000,000	714,000,000	551,000,000	1,139,000,000	1,127,000,000	27,338,000,000	27,230,000,000
Acquisitions		448,000,000						137,000,000		15,000,000		133,000,000		163,000,000		0		0
Dispositions, currency exchange and other		89,000,000						60,000,000		(53,000,000)		(38,000,000)		0		12,000,000		108,000,000
Goodwill, period increase (decrease)		537,000,000
Discount rates used in reporting unit valuations minimum rate	8.00%
Discount rates used in reporting unit valuations maximum rate	12.75%
Amount Carrying Value Exceeds Estimated Fair Value						1,800,000,000	2,600,000,000
Discount Rate Goodwill Impairment						11.00%
Implied Fair Value Of Goodwill Exceeding Carrying Value Of Goodwill						1,700,000,000
Percentage Ownership In Joint Venture				50.00%
Pre Tax Gain On Deconsolidation Of Business Contributed To Joint Venture			274,000,000
After Tax Gain On Deconsolidation Of Business Contributed To Joint Venture			$ 152,000,000