Consolidated Income Statements - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Operating Revenues:
Rental	$ 1,354,986	$ 1,256,086	$ 1,155,051
Tenant reimbursements	359,875	350,234	323,286
Interconnection and other	40,759	0	0
Fee income	6,638	7,268	3,520
Other	1,078	2,850	402
Total operating revenues	1,763,336	1,616,438	1,482,259
Operating Expenses:
Rental property operating and maintenance	549,885	503,140	456,596
Property taxes	92,588	91,538	90,321
Insurance	8,809	8,643	8,743
Change in fair value of contingent consideration	(44,276)	(8,093)	(1,762)
Depreciation and amortization	570,527	538,513	475,464
General and administrative	105,549	93,188	65,653
Transaction expenses	17,400	1,303	4,605
Impairment of investments in real estate	0	126,470	0
Other	60,943	3,070	827
Total operating expenses	1,361,425	1,357,772	1,100,447
Operating income	401,911	258,666	381,812
Other Income (Expenses):
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated joint ventures	15,491	13,289	9,796
Gain on insurance settlement	0	0	5,597
Gain on sale of property	94,604	15,945	0
Gain on contribution of properties to unconsolidated joint ventures	0	95,404	115,609
Gain on sale of equity investment	0	14,551	0
Interest and other income	(2,381)	2,663	139
Interest expense	(201,435)	(191,085)	(189,399)
Tax expense	(6,451)	(5,238)	(1,292)
Loss from early extinguishment of debt	(148)	(780)	(1,813)
Net income	301,591	203,415	320,449
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(4,902)	(3,232)	(5,961)
Net income attributable to Digital Realty Trust, Inc./Digital Realty Trust, L.P.	296,689	200,183	314,488
Dividends declared on preferred stock	(79,423)	(67,465)	(42,905)
Net income available to common stockholders/unitholders	$ 217,266	$ 132,718	$ 271,583
Net income per share/unit available to common stockholders/unitholders:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 1.57	$ 1.00	$ 2.12
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 1.56	$ 0.99	$ 2.12
Weighted average common shares/units outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	138,247,606	133,369,047	127,941,134
Diluted (in shares)	138,865,421	133,637,235	128,127,641
Digital Realty Trust, L.P.
Operating Revenues:
Rental	$ 1,354,986	$ 1,256,086	$ 1,155,051
Tenant reimbursements	359,875	350,234	323,286
Interconnection and other	40,759	0	0
Fee income	6,638	7,268	3,520
Other	1,078	2,850	402
Total operating revenues	1,763,336	1,616,438	1,482,259
Operating Expenses:
Rental property operating and maintenance	549,885	503,140	456,596
Property taxes	92,588	91,538	90,321
Insurance	8,809	8,643	8,743
Change in fair value of contingent consideration	(44,276)	(8,093)	(1,762)
Depreciation and amortization	570,527	538,513	475,464
General and administrative	105,549	93,188	65,653
Transaction expenses	17,400	1,303	4,605
Impairment of investments in real estate	0	126,470	0
Other	60,943	3,070	827
Total operating expenses	1,361,425	1,357,772	1,100,447
Operating income	401,911	258,666	381,812
Other Income (Expenses):
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated joint ventures	15,491	13,289	9,796
Gain on insurance settlement	0	0	5,597
Gain on sale of property	94,604	15,945	0
Gain on contribution of properties to unconsolidated joint ventures	0	95,404	115,609
Gain on sale of equity investment	0	14,551	0
Interest and other income	(2,381)	2,663	139
Interest expense	(202,800)	(191,085)	(189,399)
Tax expense	(6,451)	(5,238)	(1,292)
Loss from early extinguishment of debt	(148)	(780)	(1,813)
Net income	300,226	203,415	320,449
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests in consolidated joint ventures	(460)	(465)	(595)
Net income attributable to Digital Realty Trust, Inc./Digital Realty Trust, L.P.	299,766	202,950	319,854
Dividends declared on preferred stock	(79,423)	(67,465)	(42,905)
Net income available to common stockholders/unitholders	$ 220,343	$ 135,485	$ 276,949
Net income per share/unit available to common stockholders/unitholders:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 1.56	$ 1.00	$ 2.12
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 1.55	$ 0.99	$ 2.12
Weighted average common shares/units outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	140,905,897	136,122,661	130,462,534
Diluted (in shares)	141,523,712	136,390,849	130,649,041