Business and Organization	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Business and Organization	Business and Organization Colony Capital, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the "Company") is a leading global investment management firm with approximately $43 billion of assets under management. The Company manages capital on behalf of its stockholders, as well as institutional and retail investors in private funds, traded and non-traded real estate investment trusts ("REITs") and registered investment companies. The Company has significant holdings in: (a) the healthcare, industrial and hospitality property sectors; (b) Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. (NYSE: CLNC) and NorthStar Realty Europe, Corp (NYSE: NRE) which are both externally managed by subsidiaries of the Company; and (c) various other equity and debt investments. The Company was organized in May 2016 as a Maryland corporation, and elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code, for U.S. federal income tax purposes beginning with its taxable year ended December 31, 2017. Effective June 25, 2018, the Company changed its name from Colony NorthStar, Inc. to Colony Capital, Inc. and its ticker symbol on the NYSE from "CLNS" to "CLNY." The Company conducts all of its activities and holds substantially all of its assets and liabilities through its operating subsidiary, Colony Capital Operating Company, LLC (the "Operating Company" or the “OP”). At December 31, 2018, the Company owned 93.9% of the OP, as its sole managing member. The remaining 6.1% is owned primarily by certain employees of the Company as noncontrolling interests. Merger The Company was formed through a tri-party merger (the “Merger”) among Colony Capital, Inc. (“Colony”), NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc. (“NSAM”) and NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (“NRF”) in an all-stock exchange on January 10, 2017 ("Closing Date"). The Merger was accounted for as a reverse acquisition, with NSAM as the legal acquirer for certain legal and regulatory matters, and Colony as the accounting acquirer for purposes of financial reporting. Consequently, the historical financial information included herein as of any date or for any periods on or prior to the Closing Date represents the pre-Merger financial information of Colony. Accordingly, the results of operations of the Company may not be comparable as the first ten days of 2017 and full year 2016 reflect only the pre-Merger activity of Colony. Details of the Merger are described more fully in Note 3 and the accounting treatment thereof in Note 2. Colony Credit On August 25, 2017, as amended and restated on November 20, 2017, certain subsidiaries of the Company entered into a combination agreement with NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (“NorthStar I”) and NorthStar Real Estate Income II, Inc. (“NorthStar II”), both publicly registered non-traded REITs sponsored and managed by a subsidiary of the Company, and certain other subsidiaries of the foregoing. Pursuant to the combination agreement, certain subsidiaries of the Company agreed to contribute the CLNY Contributed Portfolio (as defined in Note 4), represented by the Company's ownership interests ranging from 38% to 100% in certain investment entities ("CLNY Investment Entities"), to Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. (formerly Colony NorthStar Credit Real Estate, Inc.) ("Colony Credit") and its operating company, and NorthStar I and NorthStar II agreed to merge in all-stock mergers with and into Colony Credit (collectively, the “Combination”). On January 18, 2018, the Combination was approved by the stockholders of NorthStar I and NorthStar II. The Combination closed on January 31, 2018. On June 25, 2018, Colony Credit changed its name from Colony NorthStar Credit Real Estate, Inc. to Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. See additional information in Note 4. Corporate Restructuring Following a strategic review process, in November 2018, the Company announced a corporate restructuring and reorganization plan aimed at reducing its annual compensation and administrative expenses over the next 12 months. The restructuring plan was designed to match resources that further align the Company's increasing focus on its investment management business. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company incurred $19.3 million of restructuring costs, which were primarily $14.5 million of severance costs and $4.7 million of accelerated equity-based compensation.

Business and Organization

Colony Capital, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the "Company") is a leading global investment management firm with approximately $43 billion of assets under management. The Company manages capital on behalf of its stockholders, as well as institutional and retail investors in private funds, traded and non-traded real estate investment trusts ("REITs") and registered investment companies. The Company has significant holdings in: (a) the healthcare, industrial and hospitality property sectors; (b) Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. (NYSE: CLNC) and NorthStar Realty Europe, Corp (NYSE: NRE) which are both externally managed by subsidiaries of the Company; and (c) various other equity and debt investments.

The Company was organized in May 2016 as a Maryland corporation, and elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code, for U.S. federal income tax purposes beginning with its taxable year ended December 31, 2017. Effective June 25, 2018, the Company changed its name from Colony NorthStar, Inc. to Colony Capital, Inc. and its ticker symbol on the NYSE from "CLNS" to "CLNY."

The Company conducts all of its activities and holds substantially all of its assets and liabilities through its operating subsidiary, Colony Capital Operating Company, LLC (the "Operating Company" or the “OP”). At December 31, 2018, the Company owned 93.9% of the OP, as its sole managing member. The remaining 6.1% is owned primarily by certain employees of the Company as noncontrolling interests.

Merger

The Company was formed through a tri-party merger (the “Merger”) among Colony Capital, Inc. (“Colony”), NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc. (“NSAM”) and NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (“NRF”) in an all-stock exchange on January 10, 2017 ("Closing Date").

The Merger was accounted for as a reverse acquisition, with NSAM as the legal acquirer for certain legal and regulatory matters, and Colony as the accounting acquirer for purposes of financial reporting. Consequently, the historical financial information included herein as of any date or for any periods on or prior to the Closing Date represents the pre-Merger financial information of Colony. Accordingly, the results of operations of the Company may not be comparable as the first ten days of 2017 and full year 2016 reflect only the pre-Merger activity of Colony.

Details of the Merger are described more fully in Note 3 and the accounting treatment thereof in Note 2.

Colony Credit

On August 25, 2017, as amended and restated on November 20, 2017, certain subsidiaries of the Company entered into a combination agreement with NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (“NorthStar I”) and NorthStar Real Estate Income II, Inc. (“NorthStar II”), both publicly registered non-traded REITs sponsored and managed by a subsidiary of the Company, and certain other subsidiaries of the foregoing. Pursuant to the combination agreement, certain subsidiaries of the Company agreed to contribute the CLNY Contributed Portfolio (as defined in Note 4), represented by the Company's ownership interests ranging from 38% to 100% in certain investment entities ("CLNY Investment Entities"), to Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. (formerly Colony NorthStar Credit Real Estate, Inc.) ("Colony Credit") and its operating company, and NorthStar I and NorthStar II agreed to merge in all-stock mergers with and into Colony Credit (collectively, the “Combination”).

On January 18, 2018, the Combination was approved by the stockholders of NorthStar I and NorthStar II. The Combination closed on January 31, 2018. On June 25, 2018, Colony Credit changed its name from Colony NorthStar Credit Real Estate, Inc. to Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. See additional information in Note 4.

Corporate Restructuring

Following a strategic review process, in November 2018, the Company announced a corporate restructuring and

reorganization plan aimed at reducing its annual compensation and administrative expenses over the next 12 months. The restructuring plan was designed to match resources that further align the Company's increasing focus on its investment management business. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company incurred $19.3 million of restructuring costs, which were primarily $14.5 million of severance costs and $4.7 million of accelerated equity-based compensation.