The Goldman Sachs transaction is one of many deals done by Berkshire. It received 10% interest per year, plus a 10% bonus when Goldman paid it back, plus Goldman stock based on the difference in price from when the deal was cut vs when options were exercised. Sounds good, but given the time frame, and subsequent recovery of the overall market, it was not a great investment. Buffett has admitted so much in recent interviews. (the previous answer mentioned double or triple, but that was from a fall AFTER Berkshires original investment and didn't help Berkshire)

I believe they bought it during the financial crisis. How much has the stock went up since then - double, triple??

The time to buy is when there's 'blood in the streets'. I'm betting Warren knows that.

Depends if they were in a short position. If they bought the stocks low they would most likely have already borrowed them from another broker and sold them high. Their buying them would allow them to replace the stock back to the original broker and they would pocket the difference. Very common in the market.

The make money when the stock goes UP or if Goldman issues dividends.