Income Taxes - Summary of Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended														12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	[1]	Mar. 31, 2016	[1]	Dec. 31, 2015		Sep. 30, 2015	[1]	Jun. 30, 2015	[1]	Mar. 31, 2015	[1]	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Computation of equity in net income attributable to AB Unitholders [Abstract]
Net income attributable to AB Unitholders															$ 673,358,000	$ 579,927,000	$ 563,861,000
Multiplied by: weighted average equity ownership interest															35.60%	36.20%	35.60%
Equity in net income attributable to AB Unitholders	$ 78,630,000	$ 55,925,000	$ 44,657,000		$ 60,177,000		$ 56,890,000	[1]	$ 48,387,000		$ 53,799,000		$ 51,008,000		$ 239,389,000	$ 210,084,000	$ 200,931,000
Computation of income tax [Abstract]
AB qualifying revenues															$ 2,143,858,000	$ 2,214,077,000	$ 2,153,317,000
Multiplied by: weighted average equity ownership interest for calculating tax															29.80%	30.80%	29.40%
Multiplied by: federal tax															3.50%	3.50%	3.50%
Federal income taxes															$ 22,342,000	$ 23,845,000	$ 22,131,000
State income taxes															461,000	475,000	332,000
Income taxes															$ 22,803,000	$ 24,320,000	$ 22,463,000
Changes in components for calculation of income tax [Abstract]
Increase in net income attributable to AB Unitholders (percent)															16.10%	2.80%
Increase in equity in net income attributable to AB Unitholders (percent)															13.90%	4.60%
Increase (decrease) in AB qualifying revenue (percent)															(3.20%)	2.80%
Increase (decrease) in income taxes (percent)															(6.20%)	8.30%
Unrecognized tax benefits	$ 0						$ 0								$ 0	$ 0

[1] Certain prior-period amounts have been revised, see Note 2 for a discussion of the revision.