You’re probably sitting there with Franklin, Trevor, or Michael, looking at a bank balance that feels pathetic for a legendary criminal. It’s frustrating. You finish a high-stakes heist, see the "Score" number hit millions, and then realize your actual take-home pay barely covers a new engine for your Adder. Most players just grind through the missions, buy a few properties, and wonder why they can't afford the $150,000,000 Golf Club.
Honestly? You've likely been doing it wrong.
Getting rich in Los Santos isn't about being good at shooting. It's about being good at the stock market. If you want to know how to make money story mode gta 5 requires, you have to stop thinking like a thug and start thinking like a corporate raider. We are talking about $2.1 billion per character—the absolute hard cap of the game’s engine.
The Lester Assassination Trap
This is the biggest mistake. Almost everyone sees a green "L" on the map and rushes over to Lester Crest to start the assassination missions. Stop. If you do those missions early in the game, you are essentially deleting hundreds of millions of dollars from your future bank account.
Lester's missions are the engine of your wealth. Each one manipulates the stock market in a predictable, scripted way. If you do them when you only have $50,000, you'll make a few bucks. If you do them after the final heist—The Big Score—when you have $30 million per character, you can turn that $30 million into $2 billion.
There is only one assassination you must do to progress the story: The Hotel Assassination. Do that one, then ignore Lester until the credits roll.
The Lifeinvader "Glitches" That Aren't Real
People often search for "infinite money glitches" involving Lifeinvader stock. Let’s be clear: there isn't one. After the mission where Michael blows up Jay Norris's head with a rigged prototype phone, the Lifeinvader (LFI) stock tanked. It stays low for a long time. Some players claim it eventually rebounds to its original price, allowing for massive gains. It doesn't. Not in a timeframe that makes sense. Don't park your money there hoping for a miracle that Rockstar never programmed into the game.
Making Moves Before the Final Heist
While you're waiting for that big endgame payday, you still need cash for ammo and armor. You've got options.
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Go for the "Hidden Packages." There are 12 briefcases scattered across the ocean floor. Most people go for the one in the Paleto Cove or the wreckage near the North western coast which holds $25,000. It used to be that you could switch characters to respawn these packages instantly, but Rockstar patched the most "broken" versions of this in the Enhanced Edition. Still, grabbing them once gives you a nice $150k+ cushion for early-game expenses.
Then there are the Random Encounters. These are gold.
Keep an eye out for a guy named Tinkle near the Chumash area. He needs a ride to the airport. If you get him there in time, he gives you a stock tip for Tinkle (TNK) on the BAWSAQ. This is one of the few ways to make a 30% return early on.
Another one? Find the kid whose bike was stolen in Little Seoul. It seems like a waste of time, right? Wrong. He eventually emails you saying he's actually a millionaire and gives you $100,000 in Animal Ark stock. Sell that immediately for a quick windfall.
The Billion-Dollar Blueprint
Once you finish "The Big Score," you should have roughly $30 million to $35 million per character, depending on which crew members you chose. Now, and only now, do you go back to Lester.
Here is the exact sequence. It’s precise.
The Multi-Target Assassination
Before starting, put every cent of all three characters into Debonaire (DEB) on the LCN exchange. Complete the mission. Wait for the stock to hit roughly an 80% return. Sell it all. Then, immediately dump everything into Redwood (RWD). You’ll have to wait a few in-game days—usually about 48 to 72 hours—for Redwood to rebound. When it does, it jumps about 300%. This single move turns your $30 million into nearly $150 million.
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The Vice Assassination
Investment: Fruit (FRT) on the BAWSAQ.
Target return: 50%.
After selling, you can put money into Facade (FAC) and wait for it to recover, though the Facade rebound is often slower and less reliable than the others.
The Bus Assassination
This one is different. You don’t buy before the mission. You buy after. Once the target is dead, the Vapid (VAP) stock will crash. Buy the dip. Wait a few days for it to bounce back by exactly 100%. Your money just doubled.
The Construction Assassination
This is the finale. Put everything into Gold Coast (GCD). It’s a straightforward 80% gain.
By the time you finish this cycle, if you started with the maximum take from the final heist, your characters will be sitting on roughly $2.1 billion. That is the "integer limit." If you try to make more, the game's math breaks and your balance might actually turn into a negative number.
Understanding the Two Markets
A lot of players get confused because they can't find the stocks Lester mentions. GTA 5 has two markets: the LCN and the BAWSAQ.
The LCN is local. It’s hardcoded into your save file and doesn't require an internet connection. It’s affected primarily by story events.
The BAWSAQ is different. It’s tied to the Rockstar Games Social Club. It reflects how the entire player base is playing the game. If everyone is buying Ammu-Nation armor, the stock goes up. If everyone is blowing up flyUS planes at the airport, the stock goes down.
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When you're looking at how to make money story mode gta 5 style, always check which market you’re on. If the BAWSAQ says it's "down for maintenance," check your internet connection or the Rockstar server status. You can't get rich without it.
Property: The Long Game
Properties are mostly a trap for your initial capital. The Los Santos Golf Club costs $150 million and only brings in $264,500 a week. It takes roughly 567 in-game weeks to break even. That is a terrible investment.
However, some properties are functional. Buying the McKenzie Field Hangar with Trevor is a decent way to make money through arms trafficking missions if you actually enjoy the flying mechanics. It’s $150k to buy and earns you about $5k-$7k per shipment. It’s "active" income, though. You have to work for it.
The Sonar Collections Dock is another one. It costs $250k. Once you own it, you can collect nuclear waste for $23,000 per barrel. There are 30 barrels. It’s tedious. It’s boring. But it’s a guaranteed $690,000 plus a $250,000 bonus at the end. It's a solid way to fund your stock market bets if you messed up and have no cash left.
The "Epsilon" Payday
If you're playing as Michael, you can do the Epsilon Program missions. It’s a long, bizarre trek that involves walking five miles in the desert and wearing a blue jumpsuit for ten days straight.
At the end, you're tasked with delivering $2.1 million in a car. Instead of delivering it, kill the guards and drive away. It’s a quick $2 million. It’s not "billionaire" money, but it’s the biggest single-mission cash grab outside of the heists.
Final Steps for Success
To maximize your gains and avoid losing progress, follow these rules:
- Hard Saves: Always save your game manually before investing your entire fortune into a stock. If the market doesn't move the way you expected, just reload.
- The Sleep Method: To advance time and see stock changes, go to your safehouse and interact with the bed. You don't actually have to save; just entering the save menu and backing out advances the clock. Michael sleeps for 6 hours, Franklin for 8, and Trevor for a massive 12 hours. Use Trevor to move time faster.
- Watch the Peaks: Stocks don't always hit the "maximum" percentage cited in guides. If you see a 75% return and the guide says 80%, consider selling. Greed is how you lose your shirt in Los Santos.
Check your "Total Income" stat in the pause menu under Stats > Cash. It’s a badge of honor to see that number climb into the billions. Once you have the money, buy the hangars at the airport so you can steal jets without getting a 4-star wanted level. Buy the Los Santos Customs in the desert so all your car upgrades are free.
Now, go start "The Big Score" and get that seed money ready. Success in Los Santos isn't about the jobs you pull; it's about what you do with the money once the smoke clears.