Assets and Liabilities of Businesses Held For Sale and Discontinued Operations (Held for Sale Narrative) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended			0 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013 Subsidiaries GECC [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Subsidiaries GECC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Subsidiaries GECC [Member]	Mar. 19, 2013 NBCU LLC [Member]	Mar. 19, 2013 NBCU LLC [Member] Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Segment [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Discontinued Operation Or Asset Disposal Component [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Discontinued Operation Or Asset Disposal Component [Member]	Oct. 02, 2012 Business Property [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Cash proceeds from sale of NBCU	$ 0	$ 0		$ 0	$ 0		$ 11,997
Ownership Percentage In Newly Formed Entity							49.00%
Pre Tax Gain On Sale Of Business							1,096	921
Gain On Sale Of Business Net Of Tax							825	564
Deferred income taxes									372	372
Assets of businesses held for sale	324		211	171		211
Liabilities of businesses held for sale	45		157	4		157
Current receivables	21,001		21,500	0		0
Property, plant and equipment - net	68,411		69,044	52,452		52,974
Other assets, all	77,948		100,061	58,047		62,201
Accounts Payable, Current	16,130		15,657	7,079		6,259
Accrued Liabilities, Current	15,943		14,895	0		0
Other Liabilities	68,404		68,588	15,878		15,961
Consideration Received For Sale Of Business							16,722				2,406
Guaranteed Debt Included In Sale Of Asset							4,000
Preferred Stock, Value, Issued	0		0	0		0	725
Proceeds from Sale of Real Estate Held-for-investment							$ 1,430