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Description of Business and Basis of Presentation	12 Months Ended
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation	Dec. 31, 2011
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation [Abstract]
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation [Text Block]	Description of Business and Basis of Presentation. General Icahn Enterprises L.P. (“Icahn Enterprises” or the “Company”) is a master limited partnership formed in Delaware on February 17, 1987. We own a 99% limited partner interest in Icahn Enterprises Holdings L.P. (“Icahn Enterprises Holdings”). Icahn Enterprises Holdings and its subsidiaries own substantially all of our assets and liabilities and conduct substantially all of our operations. Icahn Enterprises G.P. Inc. (“Icahn Enterprises GP”), our sole general partner, which is owned and controlled by Mr. Carl C. Icahn, owns a 1% general partner interest in both us and Icahn Enterprises Holdings, representing an aggregate 1.99% general partner interest in us and Icahn Enterprises Holdings. As of December 31, 2011, affiliates of Mr. Icahn owned 79,238,262 of our depositary units which represented approximately 92.6% of our outstanding depositary units. In connection with a rights offering registered on Form S-3, which was declared effective on December 27, 2011, Mr. Icahn and his affiliates fully exercised their basic subscription rights and over-subscription rights allocated to them in January 2012 to acquire additional depositary units. Upon closing of the rights offering, Mr. Icahn and his affiliates owned 92,233,846, or 93.0%, of our outstanding depositary units. Refer to Note 19, "Subsequent Events," for further discussion. We are a diversified holding company owning subsidiaries currently engaged in the following continuing operating businesses: Investment, Automotive, Gaming, Railcar, Food Packaging, Metals, Real Estate and Home Fashion. We also report the results of our Holding Company, which includes the unconsolidated results of Icahn Enterprises and Icahn Enterprises Holdings, and investment activity and expenses associated with the Holding Company. Further information regarding our continuing reportable segments is contained in Note 3, “Operating Units,” and Note 14, “Segment and Geographic Reporting.” We conduct and plan to continue to conduct our activities in such a manner as not to be deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “'40 Act”). Therefore, no more than 40% of our total assets can be invested in investment securities, as such term is defined in the '40 Act. In addition, we do not invest or intend to invest in securities as our primary business. We intend to structure our investments to continue to be taxed as a partnership rather than as a corporation under the applicable publicly traded partnership rules of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended (the “Code”).