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Last September, shortly after Lehman had gone bust, Bank of America had just announced plans to acquire Merrill Lynch, and back when the management of Goldman Sachs wasn't feeling nearly as confident as they do these days, Goldman reached out to Warren Buffett for a financial lifeline. The deal Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein struck with Buffett gave the firm a big shot in the arm and signaled to investors that Goldman would endure the crisis intact. And it looks like it's working out pretty well for Buffett, too. As of today, Buffett's bet has earned him a paper profit of more than $2 billion. [Bloomberg]