Cash Flow Information (Details 2) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended			0 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Jan. 31, 2014 CPA: 16 - Global	Jan. 31, 2014 Jointly Owned Investments CPA: 16 - Global
Total Consideration
Fair value of W.P.Carey shares of common stock issued				$ 1,815,521
Cash consideration	1,338	0		1,338
Fair value of W. P. Carey & Co. LLC equity interest in jointly-owned investments with CPA:16 prior to the CPA:16 Merger				347,164	172,720
Fair value of noncontrolling interests acquired				(278,829)
Total Consideration				2,057,914
Assets Acquired at Fair Value
Investments in real estate	4,379,052		2,353,391	1,969,274
Net investments in direct financing leases	898,335		363,420	538,607
Equity investments in real estate	186,965		530,020	74,367
Assets held for sale	95,209		86,823	132,951
Goodwill	700,024		350,208	348,972
In-place lease, net	997,520		467,127	553,479
Above-market rent	595,430		241,975	395,663
Other assets				82,032
Liabilities Assumed at Fair Value
Non-recourse debt	(2,961,999)		(1,492,410)	(1,768,288)
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities				(118,389)
Below-market rent intangibles				(57,209)
Deferred tax liability				(59,629)
Amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests				(99,345)
Net assets acquired excluding cash				1,992,485
Cash acquired on acquisition of subsidiaries				$ 65,429