Description of Business and Basis of Presentation (Details) (USD $)					9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended	5 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Restricted cash [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Restricted cash [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Enterprises G.P. [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Enterprises G.P. [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Energy Segment [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Nitrogen Fertilizer [Member] Energy Segment [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member] Refineries [Member] Energy Segment [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member] Refineries [Member] Energy Segment [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Percentage of equity ownership in operating subsidiary								99.00%
General partner ownership percentage in Icahn Enterprises							1.00%
General partner ownership interest in operating subsidiary										1.00%
Aggregate general partner ownership interest of parent and operating subsidiary							1.99%
Affiliate ownership interest in Icahn Enterprises (in units)					97,183,300
Affiliate ownership interest in Icahn Enterprises					93.30%	92.60%
Carrying value of long-term debt	$ 8,422,000,000	$ 6,473,000,000						$ 4,084,000,000	$ 3,056,000,000		$ 901,000,000
Fair value of long-term debt	8,700,000,000	6,500,000,000
Cash held at consolidated affiliated partnerships and restricted cash	1,886,000,000	4,979,000,000	700,000,000	4,800,000,000				2,000,000	16,000,000		0
Planned major maintenance											$ 13,000,000
Planned major maintenance (in years)												2 years	4 years	5 years