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Earnings and Dividends per Share (Schedule of Net Income Attributable to Common Stockholders) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2020 | Mar. 31, 2019
Earnings and Dividends Per Share [Abstract] |  |
Net income attributable to Westlake Chemical Corporation | $ 145 | $ 72
Net income attributable to participating securities | 0 | (1)
Net income attributable to common shareholders | $ 145 | $ 71

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- Definition Amount of earnings (loss) distributed and earnings (loss) allocated to participating securities for the diluted earnings (loss) per share or per unit calculation under the two-class method. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 260 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 60B -Subparagraph (c) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=117326831&loc=SL5780133-109256 + Details
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