When most panicked during the financial crisis, Warren Buffett invested, reaping more than $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Tightening credit markets in 2008 caused six major companies to take about $26 billion in loans from Buffett and his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, the Journal said.



These investments began with a deal with candy maker Mars, which just repaid Berkshire for a $4.4 billion loan its subsidiary Wrigley took in 2008, the newspaper said, giving Berkshire $680 million in profits. Berkshire's big crisis-era investments also included Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, the newspaper said.



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Buffett's investments compare with the U.S. government's $420 billion investment in struggling companies through the Troubled Assets Relief Program.