Net Income per Unit (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016
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	$ 135,103	$ 124,501	$ 275,040	$ 290,785
Weighted average units outstanding – basic (in units)	268,302,000	269,720,000	268,391,000	270,787,000
Dilutive effect of compensatory options to buy AB Holding Units (in units)	430,000	650,000	482,000	534,000
Weighted average units outstanding – diluted (in units)	268,732,000	270,370,000	268,873,000	271,321,000
Basic net income per AB Unit (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.50	$ 0.46	$ 1.01	$ 1.06
Diluted net income per AB Unit (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.50	$ 0.46	$ 1.01	$ 1.06
Options excluded from diluted net income per unit computation due to their anti-dilutive effect (in units)	2,507,179	2,793,454	2,452,633	2,873,106