Long Term Investments Textuals (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended										12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 partnerships	Dec. 31, 2011 partnerships	Dec. 31, 2012 Icahn Partners Lp [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Icahn Partners Lp [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Limited Partnership [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Limited Partnership [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Limited Partnership [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Maximum [Member]	Nov. 30, 2011 Minimum [Member] Icahn Partners Lp [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Hedge Funds [Member] Long Term Investment [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of invested funds invested in partnerships not accounted for on equity method								5.00%	5.00%
Partnerships accounted for on equity method	1	2
Payments to acquire investments			$ 50,000
Distributions from liquidation of long-term investments				55,500							10,082
Gain recognized				20,500							5,332
Percentage ownership of company stock prior to liquidation										5.00%
Percentage ownership of company stock subsequent to liquidation				0.00%
Proceeds from limited partnership investments					$ 207	$ 608	$ 1,002