Net Income per Unit (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015
Earnings Per Unit [Abstract]
General partnership interest in Company (percent)	1.00%			1.00%
Limited Partners interest in Company (as a percent)				99.00%
Net income per unit, basic and diluted [Abstract]
Net income attributable to AB Unitholders	$ 158,035	$ 133,308	$ 290,785	$ 448,820	$ 420,533
Weighted average units outstanding – basic (in units)	268,133,000	271,911,000		269,896,000	272,530,000
Dilutive effect of compensatory options to buy AB Holding Units (in units)	590,000	970,000		554,000	1,113,000
Weighted average units outstanding – diluted (in units)	268,723,000	272,881,000		270,450,000	273,643,000
Basic net income per AB Unit (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.58	$ 0.49	$ 1.06	$ 1.65	$ 1.53
Diluted net income per AB Unit (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.58	$ 0.48	$ 1.06	$ 1.64	$ 1.52
Options excluded from diluted net income per unit computation due to their anti-dilutive effect (in units)	2,873,106	2,771,250		2,873,106	2,383,589