Regulatory Requirements	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Regulatory Capital Requirements [Abstract]
Regulatory Requirements	12. REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS Under the SEC Uniform Net Capital Rule (SEC Rule 15c3‑1) Alternative Standard under Section (a)(1)(ii), the minimum net capital requirement is $250. At December 31, 2018, Moelis U.S. had net capital of $63,099, which was $62,849 in excess of its required net capital. At December 31, 2017, Moelis U.S. had net capital of $29,259 which was $29,009 in excess of its required net capital. Moelis U.S. does not carry customer accounts and does not otherwise hold funds or securities for, or owe money or securities to, customers and accordingly is exempt under Section (k)(2)(ii) of SEC Rule 15c3‑3. At December 31, 2018, the aggregate regulatory net capital of Moelis UK was $23,041 which exceeded the minimum requirement by $22,984. At December 31, 2017, the aggregate regulatory net capital of Moelis UK was $50,498, which exceeded the minimum requirement by $50,439.

The entire disclosure for financial services, specifically for brokers and dealers, for the accounting period and at the balance sheet date. Disclosure may include amounts receivable from and payable to broker-dealers and clearing organizations, including securities failed to receive, deposits received for securities loaned, amounts payable to clearing organizations related to open transactions, floor brokerage payables and payables for commodities futures accounts liquidating to an equity balance on a broker-dealer's records. May also include disclosure on company's consolidation policy and a note indicating the amount of the broker-dealer's actual net capital and the amount of required net capital.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 940
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2176223

Name:	us-gaap_BrokersAndDealersDisclosureTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration