You're playing GTA 5 wrong if you're broke. Seriously. Most players finish the "Big Score" heist, see that massive deposit in their bank account, and think they’ve peaked. They buy a Truffade Adder, maybe a hangar at LSIA, and call it a day.
But they're missing out on the real money.
The secret is the GTA 5 investing assassination strategy. If you time it right, you aren't just a millionaire; you’re a billionaire. We are talking $2.1 billion per character. That’s enough to buy every property in Los Santos and still have more money than the government.
It’s all about Lester Crest. Those hits he gives Franklin aren't just flavor text or world-building. They are market-manipulation tools. You kill a CEO, the rival stock jumps. It’s simple, but if you mess up the timing by even one in-game hour, you lose millions.
The Golden Rule: Wait Until the End
Here is where everyone screws up.
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Lester gives you the first assassination mission, "The Hotel Assassination," relatively early in the story. You have to do this one to progress. There’s no way around it. But for every other hit? Do not touch them. Leave them sitting on the map like a ticking time bomb of profit.
The strategy relies on capital. If you have $50,000 and you double it, you have $100,000. Big deal. But if you finish the final heist first, each character will have roughly $25 million to $30 million. Now, when you double that? You’re playing with the big boys.
Moving the Market with "The Hotel Assassination"
Since you have to do this one early, don't expect to hit the billionaire mark yet. However, you can still get a nice head start. Before you start the mission, put every cent from Michael, Franklin, and Trevor into Betta Pharmaceuticals (BET) on the BAWSAQ exchange.
Wait.
After the hit, the stock will climb. You're looking for roughly a 50% return. Sell it. Then, and this is the part people forget, the rival company Bilkington (BIL) will have cratered. Its stock is in the gutter. Buy that bottom. It will take a few in-game days to recover, but when it does, you'll net another 30% or so.
It’s tedious. You’ll spend a lot of time sleeping in-game to advance the clock.
The Multi-Target Hit and the Redwood Windfall
Once the main story is over and your pockets are heavy, head back to Lester for "The Multi-Target Assassination." This one targets jurors who are in the pocket of Redwood Cigarettes.
Before the mission, dump everything into Debonaire (DEB) on the LCN.
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Once the jurors are dead, Debonaire is going to skyrocket. It usually hits a peak of around 60% to 80% return. Sell it all immediately. But wait, we aren't done. Now that Redwood is at an all-time low, put all that new profit into Redwood (RWC).
Redwood is the big winner here. It takes a long time to bounce back—sometimes four or five full in-game days of sleeping—but the return is massive. We're talking 300%.
You’ll go from $30 million to $120 million in one go.
The Vice and Bus Assassinations
The "Vice Assassination" is about iFruit and Facade. Before you go after the guy in the suit, put your money into Fruit (FRT) on the BAWSAQ. It’ll jump about 50%. Sell it. Then, if you’re feeling patient, buy Facade (FAC) and wait for it to recover by about 30%.
The "Bus Assassination" is a bit weird.
Actually, it's the opposite of the others. Don’t buy anything before the mission. Instead, do the mission, wait for Vapid (VAP) stock to crash by 50%, and then buy it. It’ll bounce back in a couple of days.
It feels counterintuitive, but it works.
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Why the BAWSAQ is Different
The LCN exchange is offline. It’s tied to your game’s internal logic. But the BAWSAQ used to be influenced by the global GTA community.
Nowadays, in 2026, the BAWSAQ still functions for these missions, but you need to be connected to the internet. If you’re playing offline, the market might stay "under maintenance." It's a common bug that ruins many GTA 5 investing assassination runs.
Check your connection before you start. Seriously.
The Construction Hit: The Final Payday
This is the big one. "The Construction Assassination."
Before the mission, put everything into Gold Coast (GCD) on the LCN. After the mission, the stock will climb roughly 80%. When you sell this, and you’ve done everything else right, your bank balance will likely hit the $2.14 billion cap.
Why $2.14 billion?
It’s a technical thing. The game uses a 32-bit signed integer for money. The maximum value is $2,147,483,647. If you go over that, the game might glitch and give you a negative balance. You’d basically be the poorest person in Los Santos.
Common Pitfalls and Misconceptions
People think they can just do the missions and the money appears. It doesn't. You have to be active.
- The Sleep Method: To advance time quickly, go to a character's safehouse and save the game. You don’t actually have to save; just entering the menu and backing out advances time by 6 hours (Franklin), 8 hours (Michael), or 12 hours (Trevor). Trevor is the fastest way to move the market.
- Save Scams: Always create a manual save before starting a mission. Sometimes the stock doesn't peak at the expected percentage. If you save, you can reload and try to catch the "tick" at a better time.
- The Titchy Movement: Stocks don’t just jump; they jitter. You might see a 40% return, sleep, and then see a 38% return. If it starts going down, sell immediately.
There's also a random encounter involving a guy named Tinkle. He’s near the tunnel on the way to Paleto Bay. If you give him a ride to the airport, he’ll give you a stock tip for Tinkle (TNK). It’s a nice 30% boost that you can do anytime, completely separate from Lester.
Actionable Next Steps for Maximum Profit
If you are currently sitting on a half-finished save file, stop everything. Check your map for those "L" icons.
- Complete the Union Depository heist. This is non-negotiable. You need the $25M+ starting capital.
- Move to a safehouse. Use Trevor for the "sleeping" mechanic because he sleeps the longest, which makes the market move faster.
- Check the BAWSAQ. Make sure you can actually access the site. If it says "down for maintenance," restart your console or check your Rockstar Games Social Club login.
- Use all three characters. This is the most common mistake. People only invest with Franklin because he does the missions. You have to manually switch to Michael and Trevor to buy the stocks with their money too.
Once you hit that billion-dollar mark, buy the Los Santos Golf Club. It costs $150 million and is the most expensive property in the game. It’s the ultimate flex. After that, you've basically won the game's economy.
Just remember to keep an eye on those percentage peaks. The market waits for no one, not even a professional hitman.