Earnings Per Share - Additional Information (Detail) - shares	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Anti-dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share amount	5,600	4,700	200,000	200,000
BGC Holdings Partnership Unit [Member] | Contingent Class A Common Stock [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Anti-dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share amount	17,000,000		11,300,000
Limited Partnership Unit [Member] | Contingent Class A Common Stock [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Anti-dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share amount			2,400,000	4,000,000