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New Valley LLC (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended						3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended																1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended								1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012 New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 New Valley LLC [Member]	Oct. 31, 2010 Sesto Holdings S r l [Member] Acre	Mar. 31, 2012 Douglas Elliman Realty LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Douglas Elliman Realty LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Douglas Elliman Realty LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 New Valley Oaktree Chelsea Eleven LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] units	Mar. 31, 2011 New Valley Oaktree Chelsea Eleven LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 New Valley Oaktree Chelsea Eleven LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Fifty Third-Five Building LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Fifty Third-Five Building LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Fifty Third-Five Building LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Sesto Holdings S r l [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Sesto Holdings S r l [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Oct. 31, 2010 Sesto Holdings S r l [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Toy Center [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Toy Center [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Oct. 31, 2011 Hill Street Partners [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Lofts 21 LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Lofts 21 LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Feb. 28, 2011 Lofts 21 LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Hotel Taiwana LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Hotel Taiwana LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Oct. 31, 2011 Hotel Taiwana LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] units	Oct. 31, 2011 Hotel Taiwana LLC [Member] Hill Street Partners [Member]	Feb. 28, 2011 Aberdeen Townhomes LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] units	Mar. 31, 2011 Aberdeen Townhomes LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 NV Socal LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Jan. 31, 2012 NV Socal LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 NV Socal LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Nov. 03, 2011 NV Socal LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Oct. 28, 2011 NV Socal LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Jan. 31, 2012 NV Socal LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] Non-recourse Repurchase Facility [Member]	Jan. 31, 2012 NV Socal LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] Winthrop Realty Trust [Member] Non-recourse Repurchase Facility [Member]	Oct. 28, 2011 NV Socal LLC [Member] sqft properties	Oct. 28, 2011 NV Socal LLC [Member] Class C [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 HFZ East 68th Street [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] sqft story	Mar. 31, 2012 HFZ East 68th Street [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Chelsea Eleven LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Apr. 30, 2012 Sales Closed [Member] New Valley Oaktree Chelsea Eleven LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] units
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Equity income from non-consolidated real estate businesses							$ 1,444	$ 3,404		$ 1,667	$ 1,500																				$ (248)
Distributions from non-consolidated real estate businesses	740	2,165					2,325	1,075		715	1,393																																7,604
Number of units available										54																	30		2
Number of Units in Real Estate Property Closed										52																																	2
Maximum exposure to loss as a result of this investment														18,000		5,037			5,489			900			2,658						24,846									7,000		7,273
Investments in non-consolidated real estate businesses	124,292		124,469	124,292	124,469		53,089		53,970	7,273		6,320	18,000	18,000	18,000	5,037	5,037	5,000	5,489	5,489	2,658	900	900	900	2,658	2,658					24,846		25,095	25,000						7,000	7,000
Ownership Percentage						42.00%	50.00%						50.00%					7.20%		5.00%	17.39%			12.00%				37.00%				42.19%		26.00%						18.00%
Debt Instrument, Face Amount																																				40,000		796,000	117,900
Debt Instrument, Face Amount Net of Expenses																																					38,100
Payments to Acquire Defaulted Real Estate Loans													35,500
Area Of Real Estate Property						322
C-Note																																				40,000		796,000	117,900
Purchase price of C-Note																																							96,700
First mortgage loan originated in July 2007																																				40,000		796,000	117,900
Square Footage of Real Estate Property																																						4,500,000		105,000
Collateralized property portfolio																																						31
Basis points																																			3.10%
Number of Stories in Real Estate Property																																								12
Units sold																													1
Sale of Aberdeen townhome																													11,635
Gain on sale of townhomes																														$ 3,135