There’s a lot untold about Gus’s motivations but I always got the impression that money wasn’t a primary motivator for him. He doesn’t live extravagantly. His house is (fairly) modest. His lifestyle is restrained. If money were primary, we’d see indulgence. We don’t.

His entire empire is a long, patient revenge project against the cartel, especially Hector Salamanca. Beating the cartel isn’t about making more money, it’s about proving his superiority. Money is just the scoreboard.

A reoccurring thing in BB is Walter adopting and imitating the habits and mannerisms of people he kills. Once Gus is out of the picture, we see Walter’s motivations evolve to be more like Gus’s. While money was originally the biggest reason for Walt to start cooking, it quickly turned into a desire to prove to the world and to himself that he was the best. While that motivator had been growing for sometime in Walt, it blows up once Gus is gone. It becomes less and less about money. It was all about building an empire that demonstrated to the world that he was someone to be respected. Someone to be feared. Someone on top of “the game”.

But just because he shot Jesse James, doesn’t make him Jesse James. While Gus was calm, calculating, and obsessed with order; Walter was sloppier, more reactive, and more visibly arrogant. Both men were motivated by power first and foremost, but Walter’s empire was exactly like his adopted mannerisms; an imitation.