Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Apr. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	WELLTOWER INC. /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000766704
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End date	Mar. 31, 2016
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well Known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float			$ 23,029,716,957
Entity Common Stock Shares Outstanding		356,995,083