You're broke. Honestly, everyone starts off broke in Los Santos, staring at those multi-million dollar properties like the Golf Club and wondering how on earth Franklin is supposed to afford a $150,000,000 price tag on a repo man's salary. You’ve probably heard about the GTA 5 stock assassination missions from Lester Crest. They are the only way to get truly filthy rich—we're talking $2.1 billion per character—but if you pull the trigger too early, you are basically flushing hundreds of millions of dollars down the drain. It’s a classic mistake. I’ve seen players rush through these missions because they want a fast car or a better hideout, only to realize later that they’ve capped their earning potential at a fraction of what’s possible.
Don't do that.
The math behind the stock market in Grand Theft Auto V isn't actually that complex, but the timing is everything. Lester, the creepy mastermind with the cane, gives Franklin a series of hits. Each hit targets a CEO or a high-ranking official of a major corporation. When that person dies, their company's stock tanks, and their competitor's stock skyrockets. It is textbook insider trading, and in the world of Rockstar Games, it’s the most lucrative mechanic ever built. But there is a catch that the game doesn't explicitly warn you about: you need seed money. The more money you put into the market before the hit, the more you get back. If you do these missions while you only have $10,000 in your pocket, you’ll make a few grand. If you wait until after the "Big Score" heist at the end of the main story, you'll have roughly $30 to $40 million per character to invest.
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Now, do the math on a 300% return on $40 million. That's how you buy the city.
The One Mission You Can't Skip
You have to do the first one. "The Hotel Assassination" is a mandatory story mission. You cannot progress the plot without it. Because of this, you won't have the big heist money yet. That’s fine. Just put whatever cash you have—usually from the Vangelico jewelry store job—into Betta Pharmaceuticals on the BAWSAQ exchange.
Wait.
Don't sell immediately after the hit. You need to let the market breathe. Usually, the peak happens about 24 game hours later. After you sell Betta, there is a "rebound" period. The company you just hit, Bilkington, will be at an all-time low. If you wait a few days, that stock often recovers. It’s a double-dip strategy that most people overlook because they’re too busy running from a three-star wanted level.
Handling the Rest of the Hits
Once the Hotel Assassination is done, ignore Lester. Leave those little green "L" icons on your map alone. Seriously. Just drive past them. You need to finish the entire main storyline first. Once the credits roll and you’ve completed "The Third Way" (or whatever ending you chose, though C is the only one that makes sense for your wallet), you will have a massive stack of cash for Franklin, Michael, and Trevor.
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The Multi-Target Assassination
This one is a bit of a frenzy. You’re taking out four jurors who are being bribed by Redemption. The play here is to invest in Debonaire (LCN exchange) before the mission starts. Switch between all three characters and dump every single cent they have into it.
After the jurors are dealt with, Debonaire climbs. It usually hits around an 80% return. Sell it all. But then, immediately look at Redwood. Their stock just bottomed out because you decimated their legal defense. This is where the real patience comes in. Redwood takes longer to recover—sometimes two or three full in-game days. You’ll need to go to your safehouse and sleep repeatedly to advance time. When it jumps back up, it’s often a 300% return. It’s a massive swing.
The Vice Assassination
This mission targets the CEO of Facade. The competitor is Fruit. You’ll find Fruit on the BAWSAQ. This is an important distinction because BAWSAQ requires an internet connection (in-game and out), whereas LCN is purely offline. If the Rockstar servers are acting up, BAWSAQ might be wonky, so keep an eye on that. Fruit usually peaks around 50%. After you sell, Facade will eventually crawl back up by about 30%, though it’s less of a "must-buy" than Redwood was.
The Bus Assassination is Different
This is the one that trips everyone up. In the "The Bus Assassination," you are targeting Vapid. But unlike the other missions, there is no "competitor" to buy before the hit. If you buy Vapid before the mission, you lose everything.
Instead, you do the mission, kill the target, and then wait for Vapid stock to crash. It’ll drop by exactly 50%. Once it bottoms out, that is when you buy in with all three characters. Wait a few days, and it bounces back to its original price. You just doubled your money by doing absolutely nothing but waiting.
The Final Payday: The Construction Assassination
The last one is the Construction Assassination. It involves a guy named Enzo Bonafedi and a company called Gold Coast. This is a straightforward LCN play. Invest in Gold Coast before the mission. Kill the target. Watch the stock climb by about 80%. Sell it. By this point, if you started with $30 million, you should be pushing toward the billion-dollar mark.
It feels like cheating. It isn't. It's just using the systems Rockstar put in place.
Why the BAWSAQ Matters
The LCN exchange is influenced entirely by your single-player actions. It’s predictable. The BAWSAQ, however, was originally intended to be influenced by the entire GTA player base. Back in 2013 and 2014, this was a chaotic mess. Today, for the purpose of the GTA 5 stock assassination missions, it still follows the scripted logic Lester provides, but you must be signed into the Rockstar Games Social Club. If you aren't, the market will appear "under maintenance."
Common Pitfalls and Why You're Not Making Billions
I’ve seen people complain that their stock didn't rise. Usually, it's a timing issue. The "peak" isn't a permanent state. If you sleep too many times, the stock will start to trend back down toward its baseline. You have to check the phone constantly.
- Check the percentages: Don't just look at the graph. The graph in GTA 5 is notoriously misleading. Look at the "Return Percentage" in your portfolio.
- The "Save" Trick: Always create a hard save before starting a Lester mission. If you mess up the timing or the stock doesn't behave, just reload.
- Switching Characters: This is the most tedious part. You have to manually switch to Michael, buy the stock, switch to Trevor, buy the stock, and then switch to Franklin. If you only do it with Franklin, you’re leaving 66% of your potential profit on the table.
There is also a random encounter involving a businessman whose car broke down near Chumash. If you drive him to the airport, he gives you a tip about Tinkle (TNK) stock. This isn't a Lester mission, but it works exactly the same way. If you save this encounter until the end of the game, it’s another easy 30% gain on top of your billions.
What to Do With $2 Billion?
Honestly? Not much. Once you have that much money, the game changes. You can buy the Los Santos Golf Club for $150 million, which earns you $600,000 a week. You can buy every hangar, every garage, and every overpriced legendary car on the internet. You basically become the owner of the state of San Andreas.
It changes the vibe of the game. Suddenly, the $5,000 you get from a store robbery feels like literal pocket change. But there's a certain satisfaction in seeing that digit count hit the maximum. It’s the ultimate completionist trophy.
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Your Actionable Checklist for Maximum Profit:
- Stop playing the Lester missions. Complete "The Hotel Assassination" and then do not touch another "L" on the map until the main story is finished.
- Finish "The Big Score." Ensure you choose the approach that nets the highest payout (the "Obvious" approach with a talented crew usually works best).
- Check your connection. Ensure you are logged into the Rockstar Social Club so the BAWSAQ exchange is active.
- Invest across all three characters. Use the "Sleep" mechanic in safehouses to advance time quickly—Michael sleeps for 6 hours, Franklin for 8, and Trevor for a full 12.
- Watch the Tinkle tip. Don't trigger the airport hitchhiker encounter until you have your end-game millions ready to invest.
By following this sequence, you’ll bypass the struggle of the mid-game grind and move straight into the "tycoon" phase of Los Santos. Just remember to save your game before every major investment; the stock market is a fickle beast, even when it's rigged in your favor.