07-02-2026, 03:48 PM
The short version: do NOT play Lester's assassination missions when the story hands them to you. Save them for after the campaign, invest all three characters' money in the right stock before each hit, and you'll turn your endgame payout into over $1 billion per character. It's the only money method you need in story mode.
How it works
Each of Lester's assassination targets is tied to a company on the in-game stock market. Kill the target, their competitor's stock moves, you profit. The first one (The Hotel Assassination) is story-mandatory — fine, do it, but invest first.
The routine for every mission:
Which stock for which mission is easy to find (BAWSAQ vs LCN matters — BAWSAQ needs the online connection), any up-to-date guide has the table. The method itself hasn't changed since 2013 and still works in every version of the game in 2026.
Common mistake I see constantly: selling too early. Check the stock's trend graph — sell at the plateau, not the first green candle. You're leaving hundreds of millions on the table otherwise.
How it works
Each of Lester's assassination targets is tied to a company on the in-game stock market. Kill the target, their competitor's stock moves, you profit. The first one (The Hotel Assassination) is story-mandatory — fine, do it, but invest first.
The routine for every mission:
- Finish the main story first (you'll have $25M+ per character from the final heist)
- Before starting the mission, switch to EACH character and put ALL their money into the target stock
- Do the mission
- Wait for the stock to peak (1–3 in-game days — sleep to skip time), then sell with each character
- Some missions: after the spike, buy the crashed competitor at the bottom and ride the rebound for a second profit
Which stock for which mission is easy to find (BAWSAQ vs LCN matters — BAWSAQ needs the online connection), any up-to-date guide has the table. The method itself hasn't changed since 2013 and still works in every version of the game in 2026.
Common mistake I see constantly: selling too early. Check the stock's trend graph — sell at the plateau, not the first green candle. You're leaving hundreds of millions on the table otherwise.