Total number of common shares of an entity that have been sold or granted to shareholders (includes common shares that were issued, repurchased and remain in the treasury). These shares represent capital invested by the firm's shareholders and owners, and may be all or only a portion of the number of shares authorized. Shares issued include shares outstanding and shares held in the treasury.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(29))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Name:	us-gaap_CommonStockSharesIssued
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

Business, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Discontinued Operations (Details) - shares	Aug. 04, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Common Stock, Shares, Issued		1,164,029,985	1,159,590,766
Subsequent Event [Member] \| Brighthouse Financial, INC [Member] \| Impact of Separation [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Common Stock, Shares, Issued	96,776,670