GTAMoneyGlitch

GTA 5 Story Mode

GTA 5 Lester Stock Market Money Guide

The best money in GTA 5 story mode comes from Lester's assassination missions combined with the stock market. Each hit moves a target company's share price, so investing heavily before and selling after can turn the late-game assassinations into hundreds of millions across all three characters. The key is to save them until after the final heist.

Why this works

Lester's assassinations are scripted to crash or boost specific companies' stocks. Because the moves are predictable, you can buy low right before the hit and sell high right after — legally, inside the game, with no glitch or cheat involved. The catch is that returns scale with how much you invest, so it pays to wait until you're rich.

The strategy

  1. Complete the first assassination (The Hotel Assassination) when the story requires it.
  2. Save the remaining assassinations until after you finish the final heist, when all three characters have their biggest cash piles.
  3. Before each hit, invest all three characters' money in the stock the mission affects (the community has documented which company each assassination moves and on which exchange — BAWSAQ or LCN).
  4. Carry out the assassination, then wait for the stock to peak.
  5. Sell at the peak, then roll the profits into the next assassination's target.

A note on BAWSAQ vs. LCN

LCN stocks react to in-game events and recover fairly quickly, while BAWSAQ is influenced by other players online and can be less predictable. Most guides recommend focusing on the LCN-based plays for reliability, and checking prices in-game before committing.

Prefer online money?

The stock market is single-player only. In GTA Online, the best earners are heists and businesses — see the fastest legit GTA Online methods or the current working glitches.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make billions in GTA 5 story mode?
Save all of Lester's assassination missions (except the first) until after the final heist, then invest all three characters' money in the affected stocks before each hit and sell after the price jumps.
Should you do the assassinations before or after the main story?
After. Do the first assassination (Hotel Assassination) when required, but save the rest for after the final heist so you have maximum cash to invest for the biggest returns.