The best way to build up money in the whole game is trading. After you get started you should sell then buy then sell then buy. The key is to get a good bookkeeper, you can find 3 good ones in these places usually. Antoine Fitch- London, Jacob Walwiek- Bordeux, Benito- Alexandria. You must always buy the lowest possible and sell the highest that you can. The routes are: Hamburg to Copenhagen (buy dye and glassware), Istanbul to Athens (buy carpet and art), then there is Cairo to Mecca (the specials of both).