Business and Organization	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2025
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Business and Organization	Business and Organization W. P. Carey Inc. (“W. P. Carey” or the “Company”) is a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that, together with our consolidated subsidiaries, invests primarily in operationally-critical, single-tenant commercial real estate properties located in the United States and Europe that are leased on a long-term basis. We earn revenue principally by leasing the properties we own to companies on a triple-net lease basis, which generally requires each tenant to pay the costs associated with operating and maintaining the property. Founded in 1973, our shares of common stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “WPC.” We elected to be taxed as a REIT under Section 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code effective as of February 15, 2012. As a REIT, we are not subject to federal income taxes on income and gains that we distribute to our stockholders as long as we satisfy certain requirements, principally relating to the nature of our income and the level of our distributions, as well as other factors. We also own real property in jurisdictions outside the United States through foreign subsidiaries and are subject to income taxes on our pre-tax income earned from properties in such countries. In September 2023, we announced a plan to exit the office assets within our portfolio by (i) spinning-off 59 office properties into Net Lease Office Properties (“NLOP”), so that it became a separate publicly-traded real estate investment trust (the “Spin-Off”), and (ii) implementing an asset sale program to dispose of certain office properties retained by us (the “Office Sale Program”), which was completed in 2024. On November 1, 2023, we completed the Spin-Off, contributing 59 office properties to NLOP (Note 3). Following the closing of the Spin-Off, NLOP operates as a separate publicly-traded REIT, which we externally manage pursuant to certain advisory agreements (the “NLOP Advisory Agreements”). At December 31, 2025, we were the advisor to Carey European Student Housing Fund I, L.P. (“CESH”), a limited partnership formed for the purpose of developing, owning, and operating student housing properties in Europe (Note 4). We operate as one reportable segment. Our business is characterized as investing primarily in operationally-critical, single-tenant commercial real estate properties that are principally leased on a long-term basis. These economic characteristics are similar across various property types, geographic locations, and industries in which our tenants operate and therefore considered one operating segment (Note 17). Our consolidated operating results, including net income, are regularly reviewed, in the aggregate, by our chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) to evaluate performance and allocate resources, which can be found on our consolidated financial statements. The CODM is our Chief Executive Officer. Lease revenues from our real estate investments generate the vast majority of our earnings. We invest primarily in commercial properties located in the United States and Europe, which are leased to companies on a triple-net lease basis. At December 31, 2025, our portfolio was comprised of our full or partial ownership interests in 1,682 properties, totaling approximately 183 million square feet, substantially all of which were net leased to 371 tenants, with a weighted-average lease term of 12.0 years and an occupancy rate of 98.0%. In addition, at December 31, 2025, our portfolio was comprised of 16 operating properties, including 11 self-storage properties, four hotels, and one student housing property, totaling approximately 1.3 million square feet. All references to number of properties, square footage, occupancy, and industry type are unaudited.

W. P. Carey Inc. (“W. P. Carey” or the “Company”) is a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that, together with our consolidated subsidiaries, invests primarily in operationally-critical, single-tenant commercial real estate properties located in the United States and Europe that are leased on a long-term basis. We earn revenue principally by leasing the properties we own to companies on a triple-net lease basis, which generally requires each tenant to pay the costs associated with operating and maintaining the property.

We elected to be taxed as a REIT under Section 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code effective as of February 15, 2012. As a REIT, we are not subject to federal income taxes on income and gains that we distribute to our stockholders as long as we satisfy certain requirements, principally relating to the nature of our income and the level of our distributions, as well as other factors. We also own real property in jurisdictions outside the United States through foreign subsidiaries and are subject to income taxes on our pre-tax income earned from properties in such countries.

In September 2023, we announced a plan to exit the office assets within our portfolio by (i) spinning-off 59 office properties into Net Lease Office Properties (“NLOP”), so that it became a separate publicly-traded real estate investment trust (the “Spin-Off”), and (ii) implementing an asset sale program to dispose of certain office properties retained by us (the “Office Sale Program”), which was completed in 2024.

On November 1, 2023, we completed the Spin-Off, contributing 59 office properties to NLOP (Note 3). Following the closing of the Spin-Off, NLOP operates as a separate publicly-traded REIT, which we externally manage pursuant to certain advisory agreements (the “NLOP Advisory Agreements”).

At December 31, 2025, we were the advisor to Carey European Student Housing Fund I, L.P. (“CESH”), a limited partnership formed for the purpose of developing, owning, and operating student housing properties in Europe (Note 4).

We operate as one reportable segment. Our business is characterized as investing primarily in operationally-critical, single-tenant commercial real estate properties that are principally leased on a long-term basis. These economic characteristics are similar across various property types, geographic locations, and industries in which our tenants operate and therefore considered one operating segment (Note 17). Our consolidated operating results, including net income, are regularly reviewed, in the aggregate, by our chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) to evaluate performance and allocate resources, which can be found on our consolidated financial statements. The CODM is our Chief Executive Officer.

Lease revenues from our real estate investments generate the vast majority of our earnings. We invest primarily in commercial properties located in the United States and Europe, which are leased to companies on a triple-net lease basis. At December 31, 2025, our portfolio was comprised of our full or partial ownership interests in 1,682 properties, totaling approximately 183 million square feet, substantially all of which were net leased to 371 tenants, with a weighted-average lease term of 12.0 years and an occupancy rate of 98.0%. In addition, at December 31, 2025, our portfolio was comprised of 16 operating properties, including 11 self-storage properties, four hotels, and one student housing property, totaling approximately 1.3 million square feet. All references to number of properties, square footage, occupancy, and industry type are unaudited.