Related Party Transactions (Details) (USD $)					9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Expense Sharing Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Expense Sharing Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 ARL [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Capital [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Expense Sharing Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Capital [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Expense Sharing Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Capital [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Expense Sharing Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Capital [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Expense Sharing Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Capital [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Investment-Related Expenses [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Capital [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Investment-Related Expenses [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Capital [Member] Investment Funds [Member] Expense Sharing Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Capital [Member] Investment Funds [Member] Expense Sharing Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Capital [Member] Investment Funds [Member] Expense Sharing Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Capital [Member] Investment Funds [Member] Expense Sharing Agreement [Member]	May 07, 2012 IEP Energy [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Investment Funds [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Investment Funds [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 ARI [Member] ARL [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 ARI [Member] ARL [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 ARI [Member] ARL [Member] Railcar Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 ARI [Member] ARL [Member] Railcar Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 ARI [Member] ARL [Member] Railcar Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 ARI [Member] ARL [Member] Railcar Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 ARI [Member] ARL [Member] Railcars Sales [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 ARI [Member] ARL [Member] Railcars Sales [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 ARI [Member] ARL [Member] Railcars Sales [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 ARI [Member] ARL [Member] Railcars Sales [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Non-exclusive use of office space expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Non-exclusive use of office space expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Non-exclusive use of office space expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Non-exclusive use of office space expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Professional Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Professional Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Professional Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Professional Services [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] Professional Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] Other Affiliates [Member] Non-exclusive use of office space expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] Other Affiliates [Member] Non-exclusive use of office space expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] XO Holdings [Member] Telecommunication Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] XO Holdings [Member] Telecommunication Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] XO Holdings [Member] Telecommunication Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] XO Holdings [Member] Telecommunication Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member]	May 07, 2012 Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member] IEP Energy [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses charged by related party						$ 400,000	$ 400,000	$ 1,300,000	$ 800,000	$ 300,000	$ 700,000	$ 6,000,000	$ 3,000,000	$ 17,000,000	$ 7,000,000														$ 1,000,000	$ 1,000,000	$ 2,000,000	$ 1,000,000	$ 400,000	$ 600,000	$ 1,200,000	$ 1,200,000		$ 0	$ 0	$ 200,000	$ 100,000	$ 600,000	$ 300,000
Capital contributions by non-controlling interests in subsidiary (Shares)																4,566,546
Capital contributions by non-controlling interests in subsidiary																137,000,000
Affiliate ownership interest																																												93.30%	92.60%	6.40%
Liability balances due to related party			900,000	0
Investments, fair value																	3,500,000,000	3,200,000,000
Settlement of deferred management fee																	192,000,000
Deferred Management Fee																		188,000,000
Term of service agreement (in years)					3 years
Renewal period of service agreement (in years)					1 year
Written notice requirment period to terminate services agreement (in days)					60 days
Related Party Transaction, Other Revenues from Transactions with Related Party																					6,000,000	7,000,000	17,000,000	19,000,000
Revenue from Related Parties																									34,000,000	0	45,000,000	1,000,000
Accounts receivable due from related parties																			3,000,000	4,000,000
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	$ 1,718,000,000	$ 1,317,000,000																															$ 1,000,000		$ 1,000,000		$ 1,000,000