Segment Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues		$ 412,772	$ 459,104	$ 438,273	$ 380,800	$ 430,330	$ 449,934	$ 416,173	$ 360,760	$ 1,690,949	$ 1,657,197	$ 1,591,315
Operating income (loss)		30,754	$ 69,364	$ 70,720	$ 62,159	31,032	$ 69,367	$ 55,803	$ 43,718	232,997	199,920	212,438
Equity in earnings from real estate ventures										5,200	2,001	4,103
Identifiable assets		1,404,035				1,280,615				1,404,035	1,280,615	1,389,042
Depreciation and amortization										22,359	25,654	24,499
Capital expenditures										26,691	10,977	23,404
Income (expense) from MSA/NPM settlement										(247)	4,364	1,419
Litigation settlement and judgment expense										20,000	20,072	2,475
Restructuring charges										41	7,257	0
Pension settlement expense											1,607
Investments in real estate ventures		221,258				217,168				221,258	217,168	163,460
Investment securities available for sale		156,903				181,976				156,903	181,976
Long-term investments		53,197				62,726				53,197	62,726
Investments accounted for under the equity method		17,721				21,495				17,721	21,495
Corporate and Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues										0	0	0
Operating income (loss)										(26,894)	(20,523)	(15,911)
Equity in earnings from real estate ventures										0	0	0
Identifiable assets		502,268				350,499				502,268	350,499	556,975
Depreciation and amortization										1,650	1,742	1,410
Capital expenditures										86	0	7,225
Cash		280,691				112,130				280,691	112,130	213,227
Investment securities available for sale		156,903				181,976				156,903	181,976	269,100
Long-term investments		34,975				62,225				34,975	62,225	52,025
Investments accounted for under the equity method		17,721				21,495				17,721	21,495	20,484
Tobacco
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	[1]									1,011,620	1,017,761	1,021,259
Restructuring charges										41	7,257
Tobacco | Operating Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues										1,011,620	1,017,761	1,021,259
Operating income (loss)										238,293	209,393	199,119
Equity in earnings from real estate ventures										0	0	0
Identifiable assets		328,349				344,033				328,349	344,033	325,870
Depreciation and amortization										10,224	11,323	10,885
Capital expenditures										6,445	3,730	9,256
E-Cigarettes
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues										(776)	(1,970)	8,589
E-Cigarettes | Operating Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues										(776)	(1,970)	8,589
Operating income (loss)										(1,403)	(13,037)	(13,124)
Equity in earnings from real estate ventures										0	0	0
Identifiable assets		68				985				68	985	8,139
Depreciation and amortization										0	0	0
Capital expenditures										0	0	0
Real Estate
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues										680,105	641,406	561,467
Real Estate | Operating Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues										680,105	641,406	561,467
Operating income (loss)										23,001	24,087	42,354
Equity in earnings from real estate ventures										5,200	2,001	4,103
Identifiable assets		$ 573,350				$ 585,098				573,350	585,098	498,058
Depreciation and amortization										10,485	12,589	12,204
Capital expenditures										$ 20,160	$ 7,247	$ 6,923

[1] Revenues and cost of sales include federal excise taxes of $425,980, $439,647 and $446,086 for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.