The single best money-making method in GTA V’s story mode is the stock market, specifically the price swings triggered by Lester’s assassination missions. Played in the right order, these missions can turn a modest starting balance into hundreds of millions — even billions — for all three protagonists. This guide explains exactly how, and you can plug your cash into the stock market calculator to see your projected gains before you commit.
The one rule that changes everything
Save the assassination missions until after you finish the main story. Why? Because the heist payouts from the finale give you a massive cash pile, and the assassinations let you multiply all of it across three characters. Doing the assassinations early, with little money, wastes their potential. Beat the game first, then come back with full pockets.
Two markets
GTA V has two stock exchanges:
- LCN — reacts directly to your single-player actions, including assassinations. Most of the reliable plays live here.
- BAWSAQ — tied to the online community and the Social Club. A couple of plays (Betta and Fruit) trade here, but it’s more volatile and outside your direct control, so treat those targets as less certain.
The general loop is always the same: invest in the company that benefits from a hit before you pull the trigger, then sell at the peak. The exception is the Multi Target mission, where the real money is buying the company that crashes and riding its rebound.
The assassination plays
Do the missions in order and follow the buy/sell pattern below. Each figure is the realistic target gain from the stocks data — hold until the percentage plateaus, then sell.
A few notes on the plays above:
- Redwood Cigarettes (RWC) after the Multi Target Assassination is the single best play in the game. Debonaire’s rival crashes when you complete the hit — buy the dip, wait up to a game-week, and sell around +300%.
- The Hotel Assassination is forced early in the story, so you’ll likely do this one before you’re rich. Don’t sweat a small Betta position — the big multipliers come later.
- The Bus Assassination is the exception: it has no dependable stock swing. Just complete it for the mission reward and move on.
Maximize it
- Invest with all three protagonists every time. Switch characters and buy the same stock with each to triple your exposure.
- Wait for the peak. Sleep/save to advance time and re-check prices if a stock is still climbing — selling early on the +300% Redwood play leaves the most money on the table.
- Don’t over-invest one character. Spread risk, and keep a reserve so a slow recovery doesn’t strand you.
- Lean on LCN over BAWSAQ. The LCN plays respond to your actions and are far more predictable than the community-driven BAWSAQ ones.
Run your starting balance and target percentages through the stock market calculator to plan each play, and if you’re hunting collectibles or property between missions, the interactive map has every location. Played patiently, the Lester assassinations are the closest thing GTA V has to a money cheat — no mods required.