Ayn Rand on Money

In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand's character Fransisco d'Anconia gives quite a long speech on the root of money. He addresses the idea that money is the root of all evil, and concludes that money is in fact the root of all good.

I disagree with both assertions, but certainly the ladder is closer. I would argue that money (market money, not paper money) is one out of many things that is derived from the root of all good, in which case the root of all good would be something like individual initiative to create goods and services and to sell them honestly. The gist of the speech is completely right though, that money only exists because of people willing and able to produce goods and services. Money facilitates trading these goods and services, represents the work someone did for it, and serves as a promise that the holder will be able to get just as much value as he produced.