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Spoiler Warning: Plot details, ending details, or both are in the text which follows.
Spoiler Warning: Plot details, ending details, or both are in the text which follows.
Warning
Warning

We'll fix the market in our favor and we'll right a few wrongs while we're at it.

Lester's Assassinations are a series of side missions given to Franklin Clinton by Lester Crest in Grand Theft Auto V.

Description[]

These five missions require the assassination of different targets to give both Lester and Franklin, five different opportunities to gain a massive income from the stock market.

Before the player starts any of the missions, be sure to buy as many stocks before (or after for Bus Assassination) the mission is taken. After the missions wait a few minutes and the market will change (the stock market will change every 30 seconds), so be patient and wait for the stock to reach maximum before selling, it depends on the mission/stock market, but it's not uncommon to go beyond 50% increase (150% for Bus Assassination), but most of the times it will level out at around 80%.

The assassination missions are required for 100% completion but may be done after the main storyline ends (the only exception being The Hotel Assassination which is part of the storyline as it provides Franklin with a new safehouse). Players wishing to maximize the amount of money made by the characters may therefore wish to wait until after the main storyline ends before engaging in these missions, and particularly after receiving the cut from The Big Score which pays out after completing The Third Way, Something Sensible or The Time's Come.

Lester will give Franklin a hint to what is going to happen after the assassination, the missions are often a personal matter for Lester, but most of the times it is just for personal gain. He will advise which stocks to buy and when.

Benefits[]

The player can use the stock market profits from these missions to buy the more expensive properties/businesses such as the Los Santos Golf Club, or any of the three cinemas available for Michael De Santa that would otherwise be unaffordable. It is advised to do all of them (excluding The Hotel Assassination) after The Big Score to ensure a maximum payout from larger stock investments.

Missions[]

The Hotel Assassination[]

GTA5-mission-hotelassassination

In the introductory assassination, Lester explains his stock market manipulation to Franklin. He then asks him about Mollis, a hardness pill produced by Betta Pharmaceuticals. He explains that he has a major investment with them and that he wants Franklin to take care of the CEO of their competition; Brett Lowrey, who has produced a heart-stopping version called Priapol for his company; Bilkinton Research. He suggests to use Sticky Bombs or a Sniper Rifle. Once this is done, he rewards Franklin with $9,000 and a new safehouse in the Vinewood Hills.

This mission is required to progress the storyline.

Stock Tip[]

  • Pre-mission preparation:
  • Post-mission
    • Wait for a few in-game hours or sleep once before selling the stocks so that they can reach their maximum value; the percentage of return here is ~50%. Be advised - after about 24 in-game hours, the value of the stock will start to drop.
    • Hotel-Assassination GTAV Stock Profit re-invest

      240% return on re-invested funds.

      Once again, invest all the money of all three characters, but this time choose Bilkinton Research. Their share price has cratered, but will start to recover within about 72 in-game hours. It should fully mature to its pre-assassination level in another 72 in-game hours. The percentage of return here can easily surpass 100%.
  • Timeline: Purchase Betta Pharmaceuticals stock and complete the mission on Monday, sell the stock by Tuesday, purchase Bilkinton Research stock by Friday, and sell that stock anytime after the following Monday.

Note: save the game in a different slot before doing this mission, so you can reload in case anything goes wrong.

The Dollar Pills stock is an alternative, in case the player is unable to access the Bawsaq site, just do as explained above and you should get a percentage of return of 100% with the Dollar Pills.

The Multi Target Assassination[]

TheMultiTargetAssassination-Mission-GTAV

Franklin answers a phone call at a pay phone next to the Limited Service Car Wash in Little Seoul where Lester explains that Redwood Cigarettes are planning to rig the jury on a class action lawsuit. He tells him to assassinate 4 jurors. The first target is a bodybuilder at Muscle Sands Gym in Vespucci Beach. The second target is on his yacht near the Pipeline Inn (the player will need a sniper rifle to do this easily). The third target is on a window cleaning platform at West Eclipse Medical Tower (once again, a sniper rifle is needed). The final target is on his bike in Vinewood Hills. Once this is done and any wanted level is lost, the mission is passed and the player is rewarded $7000.

This mission is not required to progress the storyline.

Stock Tip[]

  • Pre-mission preparation:
    • Make sure it's Monday, if not, keep sleeping as any of the protagonists numerous times to advance the time to Monday. (Trevor can sleep for 12 hours)
    • Invest all the money of all three protagonists in Debonaire stocks on the LCN site.
  • Post-mission:
    • Wait a couple of in-game days before selling the stocks so they can reach their maximum value. Just keep sleeping.
    • The maximum percentage of return here is about 60%, after reaching this value it will start to drop. Switch to all three protagonists and sell all their stocks.
    • Now, invest all the money of the three protagonists in Redwood Cigarettes stocks.
    • Wait for 48-96 hours in game so the stocks can reach their maximum value, the fastest way to advance time is sleeping as Trevor.
    • The maximum percentage of return here is about 300%, after reaching this value it will start to drop. Switch to all three protagonists and sell all their stocks.

Note: Save the game in a different slot before doing this mission so you can retry in case anything goes wrong.

The Vice Assassination[]

TheViceAssassination-Mission-GTAV

Franklin answers a phone call at a pay phone in Legion Square. Lester tells Franklin that the next target is Facade's CEO Jackson Skinner. He informs him of a working girl he visits regularly in La Puerta. After several cars pass, Skinner's car appears and the girl gets in. The player can now wait for the car to pass and blow it up, which will result in a wanted level, or they can snipe him and drive off quickly to avoid attention. The mission passes and the player is rewarded with $3000. No wanted level will give the player a $2000 bonus.

This mission is not required to progress the storyline.

Stock Tip[]

  • Pre-mission preparation:
    • Make sure it's Monday, if not, keep sleeping as any of the protagonists numerous times to advance the time to Monday. (Trevor can sleep for 12 hours)
    • Invest all the money of all three protagonists in Fruit Computers stock on the Bawsaq site.
  • Post-mission:
    • Wait a couple of in-game hours before selling the stocks, so they can reach their maximum value. This one is faster, it will only take 6-8 hours, so it's not necessary to sleep.
    • The maximum percentage of return here is about 50%, after reaching this value it will start to drop. Switch to all three protagonists and sell all their stocks.
    • Now, invest all the money of the three protagonists in Facade stocks.
    • Wait for 48 hours in game so the stocks can reach their maximum value, the fastest way to advance time is sleeping as Trevor.
    • The maximum percentage of return here is about 33%, after reaching this value it will start to drop. Switch to all three protagonists and sell all their stocks.

Note: save the game in a different slot before doing this mission, so you can reload in case anything goes wrong.

Use all the cash earned from the previous assassination mission, the player should now have more than $700,000,000. Remember to not spend any cash until the assassination missions are done.

The Bus Assassination[]

GTA5-mission-thebusassassination

Franklin's next call is from a payphone on Hawick Avenue. Here, Lester informs him about Isaac Penny, who plans to buy a controlling interest in Vapid. He informs him that he is a tight-fisted billionaire who rides the bus to and from work every day. Franklin takes over the route and upon getting to Penny's stop he berates Franklin for being late and refuses to get on when he is asked to pay $1.50. Franklin then chases and kills him and leaves the area. He is rewarded with $7000.

This mission is not required to progress the storyline.

Stock Tip[]

  • Pre-mission preparation:
    • Make sure it's Monday, if not, keep sleeping as any of the protagonists numerous times to advance the time to Monday. (Trevor can sleep for 12 hours)
    • Do not make any investments yet.
  • Post mission:
    • Now, invest all the money of the three protagonists in Vapid stocks in the Bawsaq site.
    • Wait for 48 hours in game so the stocks can reach their maximum value, the fastest way to advance time is sleeping as Trevor.
    • The maximum percentage of return here is about 100%, after reaching this value it will start to drop. Switch to all three protagonists and sell all their stocks.

Note: save the game in a different slot before doing this mission, so you can reload in case anything goes wrong.

Use all the cash earned from the previous assassination mission, the player should now have more than $1,400,000,000. Remember to not spend any cash until the assassination missions are done.

The Construction Assassination[]

The-construction-assassination

Franklin answers another call from a payphone in La Mesa near Los Santos Customs and Ammu-Nation. Lester tells him the next target is Enzo Bonelli. He is hiding at a construction site in Pillbox Hill under armed guard due to Lester's informant letting him know what was coming. Franklin shoots through and arrives at the roof. He then shoots down Bonelli's chopper and skydives to the ground. Upon calling Lester, he is told there is too much heat and that they are going to let the dust settle. Franklin is rewarded with $10,000.

This mission is not required to progress the storyline.

Stock Tip[]

  • Pre-mission preparation:
    • Make sure it's Monday, if not, keep sleeping as any of the protagonists numerous times to advance the time to Monday. (Trevor can sleep for 12 hours)
    • Invest all the money of all three protagonists in Gold Coast stocks on the LCN site.
  • Post-mission:
    • Wait a couple of in-game hours before selling the stocks, so they can reach their maximum value. This one takes about 24 hours in game.
    • The maximum percentage of return here is about 45%, after reaching this value it will start to drop. Switch to all three protagonists and sell all their stocks.

Note: save the game in a different slot before doing this mission, so you can reload in case anything goes wrong.

Use all the cash earned from the previous assassination mission, the player should now have more than $2,100,000,000. Now the player is free to spend the money.

Maximum Income[]

Because Rockstar Games uses a 32-bit signed integer in Grand Theft Auto V, the maximum income the player can earn from the Assassination Missions is limited to $2,147,483,648.[1] After reaching this amount of cash, the game will start to glitch and will not pass this number. Players can work around the 32-bit signed integer limit by investing some cash in the high value stock (e.g. Ammu-Nation) and re-selling to top up their bank account back up to the limit each time they spend any cash.

Patch[]

As of the Title Update 1.14 on 10-20-2015, return percentages are reduced, presumably to prevent players exceeding the integer limit which was known to be causing unexpected behaviour or errors.

Updated returns (examples)[]

The following table lays out potential stock returns for each assassination as tested after the 1.14 update.

Mission Competing Stock Return Recovering Stock Return
The Multi-target Assassination
Debonaire (DEB) ~50% Redwood (RWC) ~300%
Begin: +/- 50 million End: +/- 300 million
The Vice Assassination
Fruit (FRT) 25% Facade (FAC) 33.33%
Begin: +/- 300 million End: +/- 500 million
The Bus Assassination
N/A N/A Vapid (VAP) 100%
Begin: +/- 500 million End: +/- 1,000 million
The Construction Assassination
GoldCoast (GCD) ~50% N/A N/A
Begin: +/- 1,000 million End: +/- 1,500 million
LCN; Story Mode stock exchange, dependent on in-game time and RNG.
BAWSAQ; Online stock exchange, dependent on real time and the Social Club.


Video Walkthroughs[]

Trivia[]

  • Technically, Friend Request counts as an assassination, as it helps Lester manipulate the stock market. However, Lifeinvader's stock will never recover after completion of said mission. This does not happen in the other assassination missions, as affected stocks eventually rebound.
  • Investing all of Franklin's money from The Jewel Store Job before The Hotel Assassination can help the player get the Los Santos Customs on Route 68 early on in the game, which is useful for several missions, including I Fought the Law...

References[]

  1. The limit of a 32 bit signed integer, as explained here: Wikipedia:Integer (computer science)

Navigation[]

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[ ve ]Missions in Grand Theft Auto V
IntroductionPrologue | Franklin and Lamar
Simeon Yetarian Simeon-HUDIconRepossession | Complications
Tonya Wiggins Blips-GTAV-66-RandomCharacter-FranklinPulling Favors
Lamar Davis FranklinGreen-HUDIcon FranklinRed-HUDIcon
Part 1Chop | The Long Stretch
Part 2Hood Safari
Michael De Santa MichaelBlue-HUDIcon MichaelGreen-HUDIcon MichaelRed-HUDIcon
Part 1Father/Son | Marriage Counseling | Daddy's Little Girl
Part 2Mr. Philips
Part 3Fame or Shame
Part 4Did Somebody Say Yoga?
Part 5Minor Turbulence
Part 6Bury the Hatchet
Part 7Reuniting the Family
Part 8Meltdown
Lester Crest LesterBlue-HUDIcon LesterGreen-HUDIcon LesterRed-HUDIcon
Part 1Friend Request | Casing the Jewel Store
Part 2The Hotel Assassination | The Multi Target Assassination | The Vice Assassination | The Bus Assassination | The Construction Assassination
Part 3Surveying the Score
Part 4Cleaning out the Bureau
Part 5Planning the Big Score
Heists HeistBlue-HUDIcon HeistGreen-HUDIcon HeistRed-HUDIcon
Option AThe Jewel Store Job (Loud) | The Merryweather Heist (Freighter) | The Bureau Raid (Fire Crew) | The Big Score (Subtle)
Option BThe Jewel Store Job (Smart) | The Merryweather Heist (Offshore) | The Bureau Raid (Roof) | The Big Score (Obvious)
No OptionsBlitz Play | The Paleto Score
Option A Heist Setup
HeistSetupBlue-HUDIcon HeistSetupGreen-HUDIcon HeistSetupRed-HUDIcon
The Jewel Store JobCarbine Rifles
The Merryweather HeistMinisub
The Bureau RaidFire Truck | Getaway Vehicle
The Big ScoreStingers | Gauntlet - Pillbox Hill | Gauntlet - Rockford Hills | Gauntlet - Mission Row
Option B Heist Setup
HeistSetupBlue-HUDIcon HeistSetupGreen-HUDIcon HeistSetupRed-HUDIcon
The Jewel Store JobBugstars Equipment | BZ Gas Grenades
The Merryweather HeistCargobob | Minisub
The Bureau RaidN/A
The Big ScoreDriller | Sidetracked | Getaway Vehicle
Heist Setup
(No Options)
HeistSetupBlue-HUDIcon HeistSetupGreen-HUDIcon HeistSetupRed-HUDIcon
Blitz PlayMasks | Boiler Suits | Trash Truck | Tow Truck | Getaway Vehicle
The Paleto ScoreMilitary Hardware
Trevor Philips TrevorBlue-HUDIcon TrevorRed-HUDIcon
Part 1Nervous Ron
Part 2Friends Reunited
Part 3Scouting the Port
Part 4Predator
Part 5Derailed
Part 6Hang Ten
Tao Cheng Chinese-HUDIconTrevor Philips Industries | Crystal Maze
FIB FIBBlue-HUDIcon FIBGreen-HUDIcon FIBRed-HUDIcon
Part 1Dead Man Walking | Three's Company | By the Book
Part 2Paleto Score Setup
Part 3Monkey Business
Part 4The Wrap Up
Devin Weston DevinBlue-HUDIcon DevinGreen-HUDIcon DevinRed-HUDIcon
Part 1I Fought the Law... | Eye in the Sky
Part 2Deep Inside
Part 3Pack Man
Solomon Richards Solomon-HUDIcon
Part 1Mr. Richards
Part 2The Ballad of Rocco | Legal Trouble
Martin Madrazo MadrazoBlue-HUDIcon MadrazoRed-HUDIconCaida Libre
Franklin Clinton FranklinGreen-HUDIcon FranklinRed-HUDIconFresh Meat | Architect's Plans | Lamar Down
Finale
Option A TrevorRed-HUDIconSomething Sensible
Option B MichaelBlue-HUDIconThe Time's Come
Option C FranklinGreen-HUDIconThe Third Way
Optional missions
Amanda De SantaThe Good Husband
Tracey De SantaDoting Dad
Jimmy De SantaParenting 101
Dr. Friedlander Shrink-GTAV-RadarIcon
Part 1Chaos
Part 2Evil
Part 3Negativity
Part 4Fucked Up
Part 5Abandonment Issues
Side MissionsTaxi Jobs | Private Taxi Fares | Towing | Hao Street Races | Offroad Races | Sea Races | Triathlon | Arms Trafficking Air | Arms Trafficking Ground | Hunting | Property Management | Flight School | Random Events | Strangers & Freaks | Stock Car Racing [E] | Wildlife Photography Challenge [E]
Missions in GTA V (Category) | Missions | Beta Missions | Side Missions Category

[E] - Enhanced Version only missions


Mission Protagonist:
Michael De Santa | Franklin Clinton | Trevor Philips | Michael & Trevor | Michael & Franklin | Franklin & Trevor
All | Player's Choice
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