New Valley LLC (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	9 Months Ended					3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			12 Months Ended																0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended							9 Months Ended					1 Months Ended			2 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Douglas Elliman Realty LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Douglas Elliman Realty LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Douglas Elliman Realty LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Douglas Elliman Realty LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Douglas Elliman Realty LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Apr. 30, 2012 Chelsea Eleven LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] units	Sep. 30, 2012 Chelsea Eleven LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] units	Sep. 30, 2012 New Valley Oaktree Chelsea Eleven LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 New Valley Oaktree Chelsea Eleven LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 New Valley Oaktree Chelsea Eleven LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 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]	Sep. 30, 2012 Fifty Third-Five Building LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Fifty Third-Five Building LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 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]	Oct. 31, 2010 Sesto Holdings Land Investment [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] Acre	Sep. 30, 2012 1107 Broadway [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 1107 Broadway [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 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]	Oct. 31, 2011 Hill Street Partners [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 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	Sep. 28, 2012 NV Socal LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 NV Socal LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 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]	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] Class C [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 HFZ East 68th Street [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] sqft story	Dec. 31, 2011 HFZ East 68th Street [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 11 Beach Street Investor LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 11 Beach Street Investor LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 11 Beach Street Investor LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Jul. 31, 2012 NV Maryland LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] units	Sep. 30, 2012 NV Maryland LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 NV Maryland LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 NV 701 Seventh Avenue LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] building sqft	Dec. 31, 2011 NV 701 Seventh Avenue LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 St Regis Hotel Washngton D C [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 St Regis Hotel Washngton D C [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 St Regis Hotel Washngton D C [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 St Regis Hotel Washngton D C [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Aberdeen Townhomes LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member] units	Feb. 28, 2011 Aberdeen Townhomes LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Aberdeen Townhomes LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Aberdeen Townhomes LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]	Oct. 31, 2012 Real Estate Investment [Member] NV 701 Seventh Avenue LLC [Member] New Valley LLC [Member]
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Investments in non-consolidated real estate businesses	$ 123,877		$ 124,469	$ 123,877	$ 124,469	$ 62,351		$ 62,351		$ 53,970			$ 0		$ 0		$ 6,320	$ 18,000	$ 18,000	$ 18,000	$ 5,037	$ 5,037	$ 5,000		$ 5,489	$ 5,489	$ 900	$ 900	$ 900	$ 2,658	$ 2,658	$ 2,658			$ 0	$ 0		$ 25,095	$ 25,000				$ 7,000	$ 7,000	$ 9,642	$ 9,642	$ 0	$ 5,000	$ 5,000	$ 0	$ 7,800	$ 0									$ 1,420
Equity income from non-consolidated real estate businesses						5,223	5,496	11,596	14,297				0	1,000	2,118	3,000																			7,651	7,180																			75	300
Distributions from non-consolidated real estate businesses	31,221	6,752				325	2,216	3,214	6,016				0	4,327	8,439	5,940																		32,275																			75	300
Units sold											2
Number of units closed												54
Maximum exposure to loss as a result of this investment													0		0				18,000		5,037				5,489		900				2,658				0	0							7,000			9,642			5,000		7,800
Ownership Percentage																		50.00%					7.20%	42.00%		5.00%			12.00%	17.39%			37.00%				42.19%		26.00%					18.00%				33.00%			15.00%
Payments to Acquire Defaulted Real Estate Loans																		35,500
Area Of Real Estate Property																								322
Number of Units in Real Estate Property																																	30															5,500									2
C-Note																																								40,000		117,900
Purchase price of C-Note																																										96,700
Debt Instrument, Face Amount Net of Expenses																																									38,100
Number of stories in real estate property																																											12
Square Footage of Real Estate Property																																											105,000								120,000
Additional real estate investment to be made																																													1,321						14,000
Estimated Equity Method Investment Ownership Percentage																																													49.00%
Percentage ownership in real estate portfolio																																																25.00%
Number of buildings																																																			2
Sale of Aberdeen townhome																																																									7,994	11,635
Gain on sale of townhomes																																																											$ 10	$ 3,722