Equity (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	9 Months Ended					0 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014 Non-controlling interests	Sep. 30, 2014 LGI Convertible Notes Debt [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 LGI Convertible Notes Debt [Member] Class A Ordinary Shares [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 LGI Convertible Notes Debt [Member] Class C Ordinary Shares [Member]	Mar. 14, 2014 VTR GlobalCom and VTR Wireless VTR Finance [Member]
Schedule of Capitalization, Equity [Line Items]
Shares purchased pursuant to repurchase programs (in shares)				8,062,792	14,581,019
Average price paid per share pursuant to repurchase programs (in dollars per share)				$ 42.19	$ 41.82
Total cost for stock purchased pursuant to repurchase programs			$ 949.9
Remaining amount authorized under the stock repurchase program			2,577.2
Ownership percentage						20.00%
Equity interest (in shares)						10,091,178
VTR NCI Acquisition	$ 0	$ (185.4)