Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Changes in Goodwill Balances) (Details)	12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Mar. 27, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013 Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Segment [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Acquisition Avio SpA [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2013 Acquisition Avio SpA [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Acquisition Lufkin Industries Inc [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Acquisition Converteam [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 02, 2011 Acquisition Converteam [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 02, 2011 Acquisition Converteam [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2012 Acquisition Industrea Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Power And Water [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Power And Water [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Power And Water [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Oil And Gas [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Oil And Gas [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Oil And Gas [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Energy Management [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Energy Management [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Energy Management [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Aviation [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Aviation [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Aviation [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Healthcare [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Healthcare [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Healthcare [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Transportation [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Transportation [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Transportation [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Transportation [Member] Acquisition Railcar Management Incorporated [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Appliances And Lighting [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Appliances And Lighting [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Appliances And Lighting [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 GE Capital [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 GE Capital [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 GE Capital [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Corporate Items And Eliminations [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Corporate Items And Eliminations [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Corporate Items And Eliminations [Member] USD ($)
Changes In Goodwill Balances
Acquisitions	$ 5,333,000,000	$ 845,000,000					$ 3,043,000,000		$ 2,027,000,000					$ 0	$ 0		$ 2,217,000,000	$ 113,000,000		$ 7,000,000	$ 0		$ 3,043,000,000	$ 55,000,000		$ 45,000,000	$ 221,000,000		$ 0	$ 445,000,000			$ 0	$ 11,000,000		$ 17,000,000	$ 0		$ 4,000,000	$ 0
Dispositions, currency exchange and other	799,000,000	28,000,000												(1,000,000)	(52,000,000)		66,000,000	(19,000,000)		(131,000,000)	11,000,000		(85,000,000)	76,000,000		164,000,000	90,000,000		(13,000,000)	(3,000,000)			5,000,000	(6,000,000)		793,000,000	(69,000,000)		1,000,000	0
Goodwill, period increase (decrease)	4,534,000,000	817,000,000					3,043,000,000		2,027,000,000				282,000,000																			136,000,000
Goodwill	77,648,000,000	73,114,000,000	72,297,000,000			742,000,000								8,822,000,000	8,821,000,000	8,769,000,000	10,516,000,000	8,365,000,000	8,233,000,000	4,748,000,000	4,610,000,000	4,621,000,000	9,103,000,000	5,975,000,000	5,996,000,000	16,643,000,000	16,762,000,000	16,631,000,000	1,012,000,000	999,000,000	551,000,000		606,000,000	611,000,000	594,000,000			26,902,000,000	3,000,000	0	0
Goodwill, Translation Adjustments	356,000,000
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Net of Cash Acquired	1,642,000,000	1,456,000,000	11,202,000,000				4,449,000,000		3,309,000,000	3,586,000,000
Percentage Ownership In Joint Venture					50.00%
Pre Tax Gain On Deconsolidation Of Business Contributed To Joint Venture				274,000,000
After Tax Gain On Deconsolidation Of Business Contributed To Joint Venture				152,000,000
Discount Rates Used In Reporting Unit Valuations Minimum Rate	8.00%
Discount Rates Used In Reporting Unit Valuations Maximum Rate	16.50%
Discount Rate Goodwill Impairment						11.25%
Business Acquisition, Preexisting Relationship, Gain (Loss) Recognized								96,000,000
Business Acquisition, Percentage of Voting Interests Acquired											90.00%	90.00%
Remaining Percentage Of Business That Could Be Purchased											10.00%	10.00%
Price Of Remaining Percentage That Could Be Purchased											465,000,000	343,000,000
Amount Carrying Value Exceeds Estimated Fair Value						$ 3,700,000,000