Segment Reporting, Income Statements (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Revenues:
Net sales		$ 3,340	$ 3,720	$ 3,979	$ 3,565	$ 3,982	$ 4,557	$ 4,867	$ 4,666	$ 14,604	$ 18,072	$ 17,785
Other revenues from operations										1,386	1,250	988
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										(987)	(564)	1,694
Interest and dividend income										194	217	194
Other (loss) income, net										75	182	21
Total Revenues		2,565	3,212	4,984	4,511	3,366	4,422	6,379	4,990	15,272	19,157	20,682
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										12,741	16,485	15,809
Other expenses from operations										643	613	504
Selling, general and administrative										1,908	1,625	1,417
Restructuring										97	84	50
Impairment										788	135	16
Interest expense										1,154	847	560
Total Expenses										17,331	19,789	18,356
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										(2,059)	(632)	2,326
Income tax (expense) benefit										(68)	103	118
Net (loss) income		(2,150)	(940)	541	422	(1,102)	(627)	1,123	77	(2,127)	(529)	2,444
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests										933	156	(1,419)
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises		$ (1,127)	$ (440)	$ 212	$ 161	$ (478)	$ (355)	$ 489	$ (29)	(1,194)	(373)	1,025
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures										1,359	1,411	1,161
Depreciation and amortization	[1]									849	788	708
Amortization included in interest expense										14	22	34
Investment Segment [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales										0	0	0
Other revenues from operations										0	0	0
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										(1,041)	(421)	1,850
Interest and dividend income										178	202	178
Other (loss) income, net										(2)	1	3
Total Revenues										(865)	(218)	2,031
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										0	0	0
Other expenses from operations										0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative										237	167	119
Restructuring										0	0	0
Impairment										0	0	0
Interest expense										563	299	10
Total Expenses										800	466	129
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										(1,665)	(684)	1,902
Income tax (expense) benefit										0	0	0
Net (loss) income										(1,665)	(684)	1,902
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests										905	379	(1,090)
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(760)	(305)	812
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures										0	0	0
Depreciation and amortization	[1]									0	0	0
Automotive Segment [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales										7,789	7,317	6,905
Other revenues from operations										0	0	0
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										0	0	0
Interest and dividend income										6	5	3
Other (loss) income, net										58	2	(32)
Total Revenues										7,853	7,324	6,876
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										6,577	6,260	5,885
Other expenses from operations										0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative										1,001	825	749
Restructuring										89	86	40
Impairment										344	24	8
Interest expense										144	128	111
Total Expenses										8,155	7,323	6,793
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										(302)	1	83
Income tax (expense) benefit										50	(91)	180
Net (loss) income										(352)	(90)	263
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests										53	3	(13)
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(299)	(87)	250
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures										449	418	380
Depreciation and amortization	[1]									346	336	296
Energy Segment [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales										5,433	9,109	8,986
Other revenues from operations										0	0	0
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										36	(6)	0
Interest and dividend income										2	3	1
Other (loss) income, net										(29)	186	76
Total Revenues										5,442	9,292	9,063
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										4,949	8,774	8,204
Other expenses from operations										0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative										127	136	137
Restructuring										0	0	0
Impairment										253	103	0
Interest expense										47	38	48
Total Expenses										5,376	9,051	8,389
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										66	241	674
Income tax (expense) benefit										59	73	195
Net (loss) income										7	168	479
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests										18	(73)	(190)
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										25	95	289
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures										219	218	256
Depreciation and amortization	[1]									229	219	208
Gaming Segment [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales										0	0	0
Other revenues from operations										811	759	575
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										0	0	0
Interest and dividend income										1	2	1
Other (loss) income, net										(1)	88	(5)
Total Revenues										811	849	571
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										0	0	0
Other expenses from operations										396	387	294
Selling, general and administrative										338	327	238
Restructuring										0	0	0
Impairment										0	0	3
Interest expense										12	13	14
Total Expenses										746	727	549
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										65	122	22
Income tax (expense) benefit										27	147	(3)
Net (loss) income										38	269	19
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests										(12)	(84)	(6)
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										26	185	13
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures										94	81	57
Depreciation and amortization	[1]									63	50	34
Mining Segment [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales	[2]									30
Other revenues from operations	[2]									0
Net (loss) gain from investment activities	[2]									0
Interest and dividend income	[2]									1
Other (loss) income, net	[2]									(3)
Total Revenues	[2]									28
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold	[2]									38
Other expenses from operations	[2]									0
Selling, general and administrative	[2]									12
Restructuring	[2]									0
Impairment	[2]									169
Interest expense	[3]									3	0	0
Total Expenses	[2]									222
Income before income tax benefit (expense)	[2]									(194)
Income tax (expense) benefit	[2]									1
Net (loss) income	[2]									(195)
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests	[2]									45
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises	[2]									(150)
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures	[2]									20
Depreciation and amortization	[1],[2]									8
Railcar Segment [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales										440	379	408
Other revenues from operations										499	411	331
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										0	0	2
Interest and dividend income										2	3	9
Other (loss) income, net										7	16	(6)
Total Revenues										948	809	744
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										338	288	326
Other expenses from operations										201	175	160
Selling, general and administrative										45	42	39
Restructuring										0	0	0
Impairment										0	0	0
Interest expense										82	60	49
Total Expenses										666	565	574
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										282	244	170
Income tax (expense) benefit										69	(56)	(31)
Net (loss) income										213	188	139
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests										(76)	(66)	(109)
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										137	122	30
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures										522	626	424
Depreciation and amortization	[1]									127	106	92
Food Packaging Segment [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales										344	365	371
Other revenues from operations										0	0	0
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										0	0	0
Interest and dividend income										0	0	0
Other (loss) income, net										(7)	(19)	(25)
Total Revenues										337	346	346
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										263	275	285
Other expenses from operations										0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative										50	45	47
Restructuring										5	0	0
Impairment										0	0	0
Interest expense										12	14	22
Total Expenses										330	334	354
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										7	12	(8)
Income tax (expense) benefit										10	(3)	51
Net (loss) income										(3)	9	43
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests										0	(3)	(11)
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(3)	6	32
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures										22	23	20
Depreciation and amortization	[1]									19	22	21
Metals Segment [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales										361	711	929
Other revenues from operations										0	0	0
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										0	0	0
Interest and dividend income										0	0	0
Other (loss) income, net										4	0	0
Total Revenues										365	711	929
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										406	728	948
Other expenses from operations										0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative										20	23	27
Restructuring										2	0	0
Impairment										20	3	2
Interest expense										0	0	0
Total Expenses										448	754	977
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										(83)	(43)	(48)
Income tax (expense) benefit										(32)	18	20
Net (loss) income										(51)	(25)	(28)
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests										0	0	0
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(51)	(25)	(28)
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures										24	41	15
Depreciation and amortization	[1]									29	26	26
Real Estate Segment [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales										14	15	2
Other revenues from operations										76	80	82
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										0	0	0
Interest and dividend income										0	0	0
Other (loss) income, net										41	6	1
Total Revenues										131	101	85
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										7	8	0
Other expenses from operations										46	51	50
Selling, general and administrative										13	12	12
Restructuring										0	0	0
Impairment										2	5	2
Interest expense										2	3	4
Total Expenses										70	79	68
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										61	22	17
Income tax (expense) benefit										0	0	0
Net (loss) income										61	22	17
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests										0	0	0
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										61	22	17
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures										3	1	2
Depreciation and amortization	[1]									21	22	23
Home Fashion Segment [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales										193	176	184
Other revenues from operations										0	0	0
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										0	0	0
Interest and dividend income										0	0	0
Other (loss) income, net										1	5	3
Total Revenues										194	181	187
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										163	152	161
Other expenses from operations										0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative										34	29	31
Restructuring										1	(2)	10
Impairment										0	0	1
Interest expense										0	0	0
Total Expenses										198	179	203
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										(4)	2	(16)
Income tax (expense) benefit										0	0	0
Net (loss) income										(4)	2	(16)
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests										0	0	0
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(4)	2	(16)
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures										6	3	7
Depreciation and amortization	[1]									7	7	8
Holding Company [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales										0	0	0
Other revenues from operations										0	0	0
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										18	(137)	(158)
Interest and dividend income										4	2	2
Other (loss) income, net										6	(103)	6
Total Revenues										28	(238)	(150)
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										0	0	0
Other expenses from operations										0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative										31	19	18
Restructuring										0	0	0
Impairment										0	0	0
Interest expense										289	292	302
Total Expenses										320	311	320
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										(292)	(549)	(470)
Income tax (expense) benefit										(116)	161	96
Net (loss) income										(176)	(388)	(374)
Less: net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests										0	0	0
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(176)	(388)	(374)
Supplemental information:
Capital expenditures										0	0	0
Depreciation and amortization	[1]									0	0	0
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member]
Revenues:
Net sales										14,604	18,072	17,785
Other revenues from operations										1,386	1,250	988
Net (loss) gain from investment activities										(987)	(564)	1,694
Interest and dividend income										194	217	194
Other (loss) income, net										75	182	21
Total Revenues										15,272	19,157	20,682
Expenses:
Cost of goods sold										12,741	16,485	15,809
Other expenses from operations										643	613	504
Selling, general and administrative										1,908	1,625	1,417
Restructuring										97	84	50
Impairment										788	135	16
Interest expense										1,153	846	560
Total Expenses										17,330	19,788	18,356
Income before income tax benefit (expense)										(2,058)	(631)	2,326
Income tax (expense) benefit										(68)	103	118
Net (loss) income										(2,126)	(528)	2,444
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(1,193)	(372)	1,025
Supplemental information:
Amortization included in interest expense										13	21	34
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] | Investment Segment [Member]
Expenses:
Net (loss) income										(1,665)	(684)	1,902
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(760)	(305)	812
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] | Automotive Segment [Member]
Expenses:
Net (loss) income										(352)	(90)	263
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(299)	(87)	250
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] | Energy Segment [Member]
Expenses:
Net (loss) income										7	168	479
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										25	95	289
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] | Gaming Segment [Member]
Expenses:
Net (loss) income										38	269	19
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										26	185	13
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] | Mining Segment [Member]
Expenses:
Net (loss) income	[3]									(195)	0	0
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises	[3]									(150)	0	0
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] | Railcar Segment [Member]
Expenses:
Net (loss) income										213	188	139
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										137	122	30
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] | Food Packaging Segment [Member]
Expenses:
Net (loss) income										(3)	9	43
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(3)	6	32
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] | Metals Segment [Member]
Expenses:
Net (loss) income										(51)	(25)	(28)
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(51)	(25)	(28)
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] | Real Estate Segment [Member]
Expenses:
Net (loss) income										61	22	17
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										61	22	17
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] | Home Fashion Segment [Member]
Expenses:
Net (loss) income										(4)	2	(16)
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										(4)	2	(16)
Icahn Enterprises Holdings [Member] | Holding Company [Member]
Expenses:
Interest expense										288	291	302
Net (loss) income										(175)	(387)	(374)
Net (loss) income attributable to Icahn Enterprises										$ (175)	$ (387)	$ (374)

[1] Excludes amounts related to the amortization of deferred financing costs and debt discounts and premiums included in interest expense in the consolidated amounts of $14 million, $22 million and $34 million for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

[2] We consolidated Ferrous Resources effective June 1, 2015.

[3] We consolidated Ferrous Resources effective June 1, 2015.