How Much Money Do You Start With in Monopoly (All Editions)?

Monopoly is a game of capitalistic competition. Players compete on who can amass the most wealth and bankrupt their opponents the quickest. Yet each player starts on an equal footing as everyone receives the same amount of money as everyone else.

In the Classic rules, each player starts off with $1,500. However, there have been many versions and iterations, with many different rules and tweaks to the original rules. Some like the Junior edition give as low as $16 while some like Electronic Banking start with $15M each.

The amount of Monopoly money you start with depends on the edition you are playing. It is important to know how much money you have before you go shopping because some properties are more expensive than others. This article answers the question of how much one starts with in several popular editions and shows you some tricks that will help you win the game.

How Much Money Do You Start with in Monopoly?

At the beginning of a new game of Monopoly, each player is given a certain amount of money to start with. The Banker starts with all the money then distributes some of it equally to the players. In games that were designed before 2008, the banks start with a total of $15,140 distributed this way:

20 orange color bills in $500 denomination.
20 beige color bills in $100 denomination.
30 blue color bills in $50 denomination.
50 green color bills in $20 denomination.
40 yellow color bills in $10 denomination.
40 pink color bills in $5 denomination.
40 white color bills in $1 denomination.

For games made after September 2008, the bank starts with a total of $20,580. All the different denomination notes have 30 pieces. Three notes changed colors and these are:

The $10 notes are now blue.
The $20 notes are now bright green.
The $50 notes are now purple.

The bank also starts off as the owner of all the properties including the 32 houses and 12 hotels. The rules for the Monopoly Classic edition state that the Banker will distribute some of its money to the players at the beginning of the game. Each player starts the game of Monopoly Classic Edition with:

Two $500 bills.
Four $100 bills.
One $50 bill.
One $20 bill.
Two $10 bills.
One $5 bill.
Five $1 bills.

Thus, each player starts with a total of $1,500.

How Much Money Do You Start with in the Monopoly Empire?

Monopoly Empire represents a major shift from the Monopoly Classic rules. Gameplay involves collecting billboards to hang on your tower instead of buying properties. There are four towers and 30 billboard tiles.

You can’t trade but may be forced to exchange billboards with an opponent. In certain circumstances, you can take billboards from other players and your opponents can take your billboards too.

Empire is a lot faster to play than the Classic edition. Players can’t go bankrupt and the money is counted in thousands. Thus, a $50 bill is counted as $50,000. When starting the game, the banker gives each player $1 million in the following denominations:

One $500 bill, equals $500K
Four $100 bills representing $400K
Two $50 bills equaling $100K
Each player also gets two Empire cards and one tower.

How Much Money Do You Start with in Monopoly Junior?

Monopoly Junior is a kid-friendly version of the Classic Monopoly game. The objective of the game is to buy as much [property as possible, collect rent, and pick up Chance cards which improve your chances of winning.

In Monopoly Junior, every bill is a one-dollar bill. Each player receives:

12 sold signs matching their token’s character.
20 one dollar bills if it’s a 2-player game.
18 one dollar bills if it’s a 3-player game.
16 one dollar bills if it’s a 4-player game.

How Much Money Do You Start with in Monopoly Cheaters Edition?

Monopoly Cheaters Edition is an exciting version which allows the bending of the original Monopoly rules. However, you don’t just break any rules. You use the Cheat cards and Community Chest and Chance cards to know when and how you can cheat. To get ahead, you cheat to buy the property and collect rent. You also gain by catching your opponents cheating.

Cheaters’ Edition has no banker. Players pass around the Bank tray as they play their turns. Some players may attempt to collect more from the tray than they’re allowed. If unnoticed, good for them. If caught, they are penalized.

The Tricky cards found in the Chest and Community Chest allow you to bribe judges, send opponents to jail without reason, or force an opponent to collect less rent on their property.

At the start of the game, each player receives:

Two $500 bills.
Four $100 bills.
One $50 bill.
One $20 bill.
Three $10 bills.

The amount totals $1,500 per player at the start of the game.

How Much Money Do You Start with in Monopoly Electronic Banking?

Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition reflects the modern transactional lifestyle. The game uses an electronic banker’s unit and the player cards work much like a regular ATM card.

At the start of the game, you switch on the banker’s unit and each player swipes their card. Each player will be credited with $15,000,000 ($15M).

When using the Banker’s unit, you need to be familiar with the symbols. For instance, the denomination buttons ‘M’ and ‘K’ represent million (M) and thousand (K) respectively. The unit can only display up to five characters on the screen. So instead of 20,000 it will show 20K and instead of 5,000,000 it will show 5M.

How Much Money Do You Start with in Monopoly Here and Now?

Monopoly Here and Now is very similar to the Classic version, except some rules have been tweaked to reflect the modern economy. For instance, the prices of everything has been updated to reflect close to real market figures.

Each player starts with $15 million. The money is disbursed in form of:

Two of $5,000,000.
Two of $1,000,000.
Two of $500,000.
Six of $200,000.
Five of $100,000.
Five of $50,000.
Five of $10,000.

How Much Money Do You Start with in Monopoly Millionaire?

Want to live the millionaire lifestyle? The Monopoly Millionaire Edition turns fantasy into a board game and you win by becoming the first to reach a million bucks.

Instead of a Community Chest you have a deck of millionaire lifestyle cards. You also get three movers. A basic, normal, and advanced mover per player. Additionally, each player also receives one reminder card and starts with a total of $372,000 divided as:

Two of $100,000
Two of $50,000
Two of $20,000
Two of $10,000
Two of $5,000
Two of $1,000

How Much Money Do You Start with in Pokémon Monopoly?

If you love the Pokémon video games, then you’ll most likely love the Pokémon-themed monopoly game. Most of the rules in Pokémon Monopoly remain the same as the classic edition.

However, in the Pokémon edition you’ll be playing with ‘Poke money’ rather than Monopoly dollars. Also, instead of houses and hotels, you’ll be erecting Poke centers and Poke marts.

To make the game even more interesting and aligned to the theme, players can get special powers such as teleporting like Mewtwo or attack another player’s gym lot. Nonetheless, just like in the Classic Edition, Pokémon Monopoly players start with $1,500 divided as:

Two $500 notes.
Four $100 notes.
One $50 note.
One $20 note.
Two $10 notes.
One $5 note.
Five $1 notes.

How Much Money Do You Start with in Disney Monopoly?

The Disney Monopoly Edition brings Disney movies, characters, and the theme park excitement to your board game. The standard rules are mostly the same with a few interesting changes.

Instead of Monopoly dollars, you’ll be using Disney dollars. Instead of houses and hotels, you will be building White Rabbit’s cottages and Sleeping Beauty’s castles. Instead of the Chance and Community Chest cards, you will be drawing from decks of Magic Moments cards and Show Time cards.

At the beginning of the game, each player will receive in Disney Dollars:

Two $500 Disney bills.
Four $100 Disney bills.
One $50 Disney bill.
One $20 Disney bill.
Two $10 Disney bills.
One $5 Disney bill.
Five $1 Disney bills.

How Much Money Do You Start with in Monopoly City?

Monopoly City introduces some urban complexities to the standard game. Some of the new inclusions are:

Schools
Parks
Water towers
Prisons
Trash dumps
Mapped districts
Wind farms
Power plants
Sewage plants

The currency is in thousands and millions. When starting the game, the banker distributes with each player receives $37,700,000 broken down as:

Six notes of $5 million each.
Six notes of $1M each.
Two notes of $500K each.
Two notes of $200K each.
Two notes of $100K each.
One note of $50K.
Five notes of $10K each.

How Much Money Do You Start with in Monopoly Deluxe Edition Monopoly Game?

Monopoly Deluxe Edition was a 1995 release commemorating the 60th anniversary since the release of the first Monopoly game. The game is basically the same as the original save for some visual improvements and extra tokens. Some of the upgrades making this a fancier version than the original include:

Golden tokens.
A fancy money holder.
A Spinning title deed card holder.
More elaborate box, board, and pieces.

Nonetheless, even with the upgrade in looks, the Deluxe version plays by the same rules as the Classic Edition. Each player starts with $1,500 in:

Two 500’s.
Four 100’s.
One 50-dollar bill.
One 20-dollar bill.
Two tens.
One five-dollar bill.
Five one-dollar bills.

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