I'm reading the passages again, and my original impression is the same. There is a heading “Or did you say it’s the love of money that’s the root of all evil?".............followed by:
“To love a thing is to know and love its nature. To love money is to know and love the fact that money is the creation of the best power within you, and your passkey to trade your effort for the effort of the best among men."
This statement implies that she is going to present a case that the loving money is a good thing in itself; then atheist Rand proceeds to reiterate what Christians have been saying forever. She tempers the statement with a certain aquiescence to the notion that a certain morality in financial dealings is necessary.
This is a "new" way of thinking?!
Most people who "reject" time-honored philosophies find it necessary to reinvent them with a new coat of paint.