The fastest money in Grand Theft Auto V story mode is Lester’s assassination missions combined with the stock market. Played correctly, the method is worth into the billions, and nothing else in single player comes close.
The catch is ordering. Finish the main story before doing the optional assassinations, because the amount you walk away with depends on how much you had to invest beforehand.
Why the Order Matters So Much
Lester hires Franklin for five assassination side missions. Each target is a major figure at a company, and killing them moves that company’s stock hard, with rivals usually moving the opposite way.
Four of the five are optional and can be done after the story ends. The first one is the exception and comes during the story.
Here is the part people get wrong: your profit is a percentage of what you invested. Doing the assassinations early, while all three characters are poor, turns a billion-dollar opportunity into a modest one. Complete the story first, bank the story payouts, and then run the assassinations with full pockets.
The Method
- Finish the main story. Do not touch the optional assassinations before this.
- Buy on all three characters. Michael, Franklin and Trevor each hold separate money, so you are effectively investing three times over. Skipping two of them leaves two thirds of the profit behind.
- Save manually before each mission and before each big purchase. If the market does not move the way you expected, reload and try again. This is the single most useful habit in the whole method.
- Do the assassination, then watch the affected stocks.
- Sleep to fast forward. Peaks generally arrive within a 24 to 48 hour window in game, and sleeping at a safehouse gets you there in seconds rather than driving around waiting.
- Sell at the peak, then repeat with the next assassination.
LCN and BAWSAQ Are Not the Same
Two exchanges exist and they behave differently.
LCN responds to story events and the assassinations. It is offline-driven, which makes it the predictable one and the exchange the method actually depends on.
BAWSAQ is influenced by wider online activity, so it is less reliable to plan around, though assassinations can still create swings there.
If you are following a stock plan and the numbers are not matching, check which exchange you are looking at. That mismatch explains most confusion about the method.
Tips Most Players Miss
- Manual saves are the whole safety net. Without one you cannot retry a bad market reaction.
- Do not spend before the assassinations. Every dollar held is a dollar compounding.
- Three characters, three portfolios. Buying on Franklin alone is the most common mistake.
Money is only useful if you keep it, and how to save your game covers the manual save habit this method depends on. If you are playing online instead, selling property works very differently. Our full GTA guides cover the rest of the series.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fastest way to make money in GTA 5 story mode? Lester’s assassination missions paired with stock market investment, done after the main story.
Should I do the assassinations during the story? No, except the first one, which is part of the story. Save the other four until after the credits so you have more money to invest.
Do I need to buy stocks on all three characters? Yes, if you want the full return. Michael, Franklin and Trevor hold separate money.
What is the difference between LCN and BAWSAQ? LCN reacts to story events and assassinations and is the predictable one. BAWSAQ is influenced by wider online activity and is less reliable to plan around.