Most of us have heard the saying "money is the root of all evil." Essentially, this means that money is behind all the evil in the world - the motivation, the goal, the means. However, this saying, while some may believe it is true, is actually a misquotation.
The phrase comes from the Bible, specifically Timothy 6:1-12. The actual saying is "the love of money is the root of all evil." And if you want to get technical with the translation, it's "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." All of these phrases may sound the same at first glance. They aren't though.
The real translation puts the focus on the person because someone has to love money in order for it to be evil. Money itself is not inherently evil. And anyone could love money - rich or poor.