Money Guide
Early Game
From the Prologue to Friends Reunited, the first time all three characters are available. By that time, you'll have enough money to afford cars, weapons, clothes, apartments, etc. Just ignore some dialogue where Michael and Franklin say they're broke...
Michael
$2.3 million
​
Epsilon missions: $2,000,000. Steal the "apocalypse money" at the end.
-
Available after Pulling Favors. Go to www.epsilongprogram.com from Michael's phone and take the test.
-
Begin these missions as soon as possible. To finance them, find hidden packages and rob armored trucks (see below).
-
Seeking the Truth. Cost to unlock: free.
-
Accepting the Truth. Cost to unlock: $500.
-
Assuming the Truth. Cost to unlock: $5,000.
-
Chasing the Truth. Cost to unlock: free.
-
Bearing the Truth. Cost to unlock: $10,000. Cost during mission: $25,000
-
To wear the robes for 10 consecutive days, sleep 40 times in Michael's bed to advance time, as the game may change his clothes if you switch.
-
-
Delivering the Truth. Cost to unlock: free.
-
Exercising the Truth. Cost to unlock: free.
-
Unknowing the Truth. Cost to unlock: $50,000. Reward at the end: $2.1M.
-
An easy way to steal the apocalypse money is to break from the convoy right away, take the second left, and shelter in the semi-covered parking lot. Park under the roof to hide from the helicopter, then take out Epsilon security. Losing the cops is easy too, as there's an LS Customs nearby. Notice that none of the heavy weapons have been unlocked so early in the game, though you can find some hidden around the map.
-
-
​
Hidden packages: $125,000
-
Available after Complications. See guide here. You will need a Dinghy, which can be stolen at a number of locations. This is the easiest and quickest way to make money early in the game.
-
NB: on the PC version, the packages only spawn if you ​reload a save game in their vicinity.
-
​
Armored trucks: between $40,000 and $80,000
-
Available after Complications. See guide here. These are easy but don't pay much. Keep in mind that random events outside of Los Santos won't spawn until later, so only a few armored cars are actually available to rob until then.
Alternatives: Michael can also use some of the random events listed below for Trevor and Franklin.
-
However, when playing as M you should earn strictly as much money as needed to finance the Epsilon missions, since the Epsilon payout is so high that M will be the richest character no matter what (as he should be, given his backstory).
​
The Jewel Store Job
-
Approach: smart.
- Crew: Rickie Lukens (4%), Karim Denz (7%), Packie McCreary (12%).
-
​​If using Norm instead of Packie, he will die, so be sure to pick up his part of the score when he falls off his bike.​
-
Paying more for Packie's share is still cheaper than paying Norm's casualty expense.
-
Make sure to wait until Rickie is available! Sometimes it takes a few days after Friend Request before he calls M.
-
Trevor
$500,000
Trevor starts with $100,000 and quickly earns an additional $60,000 in Nervous Ron, so you may want to do some of this as Franklin instead. However, if F starts with $500k (see below), then doing all of these as T is the only way to ensure that he doesn't end up the poorest character for the whole game.
​
Drug shootout (weed farm) random event: between $40,000 and $60,000
-
Available after Mr. Phillips. See guide here.
-
Trevor only.​
-
​
Bail Bonds: $40,000
-
Available after Mr. Phillips. See guide here. $10,000 per fugitive, or $5,000 if killed.
-
Trevor only.
-
​
Deal gone wrong random event: $25,000
-
Available after Mr. Phillips (T) or after Friends Reunited (M + F). See guide here.​
​
Countryside robbery random event: $40,000
-
Available after Mr. Phillips (T) or after Friends Reunited (M + F). See guide here.​
​
Burial random event: $60,000 after some hours/days
-
Available after Friends Reunited. See guide here.
-
Any character.
-
​
Bike thief (Rancho) random event: $100,000 in AnimalArk stock after a few days
-
Available after Friends Reunited. See guide here.
-
Any character.
-
​
Altruist cult: $100,000 in briefcases plus $3,000 in awards
-
Available after Nervous Ron, but most hitchhikers are available only after Friends Reunited.
-
Trevor only.
-
Possible hitchhikers:
-
Franklin
$500,000 *
If you preordered the game and/or are returning player, Franklin starts with $500,000 and does not need any money. Since this guide is written in 2021, eight years after the original game, I assume that Franklin starts with that kind of money.
​
If not, do as F some of the events listed above for T. Additionally, you may collect the hidden packages and rob the armored trucks that M doesn't need to finance his Epsilon missions.
​
Another alternative is to do all the hidden packages and armored trucks with F, and let M wait for the Epsilon missions until after Friends Reunited.
Middle Game
From Friends Reunited to The Third Way. Go through the story missions normally. See my guide here for the ideal lore-friendly way to do so. The two main sources of income are the heists and the stock market.
​
Heist crew unlocks
-
These are crucial to increase the profit from the heists.
-
Rickie Lukens. Wait a couple of days after Friend Request. Do not take the Jewel Store Job without him!
-
Packie McCreary. Complete his random event. Any character. See guide here.
-
Taliana Martinez. Complete her random event. Any character. See guide here.
-
​
The Merryweather Heist
-
Approach: either.
-
Crew: none.
-
No profit.
​
The Sonar Collection Dock
-
Reward: $640,000.
-
Purchase the property for $250,000. Using the minisub that comes with it, collect 30 underwater barrels. Each pays $23,000, plus a $250,000 award if you collect them all which pays off the property, for a net profit of $640,000.
-
Buy this property as whichever character needs $640,000 the most at this point. Story-wise, obviously this fits best for Trevor, as he operates the minisub in the heist and has one stored at the airfield.
-
Barrels collected by characters who don't own the property will count toward the total of 30, but they will not grant anyone the $23,000 reward.
-
The Hotel Assassination
-
Make sure that Michael has finished his Epsilon missions and that either Trevor or Franklin has collected all nuclear waste for the Sonar Collections Dock. This will ensure that the maximum possible money is investable before this mission.
-
Invest before: Betta. Return: 50% immediately.
- Invest after: Bilkinton. Return: 100% a few days later.
​
Caida Libre
-
Invest before Caida Libre: Vangelico. Return: 25-30% after Minor Turbulence.
-
After Caida Libre (the first Madrazo mission), you lose control of M and T for a bit, so be sure to buy before then.
-
Minor Turbulence is a M+T mission, but it is activated by F.
-
​
The Paleto Score
-
Approach: fixed.
-
Crew: Chef (12%) or Packie McCreary (12%).
-
This is cheaper than picking either Norm or Daryl, who die here and are more useful in other scores.
-
-
$445,000 per character.
​
Bury the Hatchet
-
Invest before Bury the Hatchet: Gruppe Sechs. Return: 15-20% after Fresh Meat.
-
After Bury the Hatchet, you lose control of M for a bit, so be sure to buy before then.
-
Minor Turbulence is a M+T mission, but it is activated by F.
-
​
The Bureau Raid
-
Approach: roof entry.
-
Crew: Rickie Lukens (4%), Daryl Johns (6%), Taliana Martinez (5%).
-
M: $0, F: $242,000.
Legal Trouble
-
Invest before: AirEmu. Return: 15-20% immediately after.
​
Meltdown
-
Invest before: FlyUS. Return: 100% a few days later.
-
The Big Score may become available while you wait for FlyUS stock to rebound. Don't start it, because you will need to invest again soon after it.​
-
The Big Score
-
Approach: obvious.
-
Crew: drivers - Taliana Martinez (5%) and Karim Denz (8%); gunmen - Daryl Johns (6%) and Hugh Welsh (7%).
-
$41,600,000 per character.
The Third Way
-
Invest before: Augury Insurance. Return: 100% a few days later.
-
You don't get the money from the Big One until after this mission, but the stock takes a while to rebound, so invest all your score money immediately after the end of the main story for the maximum possible return!
-
Of course, this only works if you "pick C," which you should anyway...
-
Late Game
After the end of the main story. I finished with ~$126 million for Michael and ~$100 million each for Franklin and Trevor. With that sort of money, it's easy to get to the maximum possible wealth of $2.1 billion for all three characters.
​
The Multi-Target Assassination
-
Invest before: Debonaire. Return: 40% immediately after.​
-
Invest after: Redwood. Return: 330% a week later.
​
The Vice Assassination
-
Invest before: Fruit. Return: 25% immediately after.​
-
Invest after: Facade. Return: 33% a week later.
​
The Bus Assassination
-
Invest before: nothing.
-
Invest after: Vapid. Return: 100% a few days later.
​
The Construction Assassination
-
Invest before: GoldCoast. Return: 45% immediately after.​
-
Invest after: nothing.
​
Hitch lift (Banham Canyon) random event
-
This can be done anytime after Friends Reunited, so it's up to you. Invest in Tinkle before picking up the hitchhiker and sell for a 33% return immediately after delivering him to the airport. See guide here.
Buying Properties
Below is my recommended, lore-friendly allotment of property ownership for all three characters.
​
Michael. Spend $212,000,000. Weekly income: $820,000 + odd jobs.
-
Los Santos Golf Club
-
Ten Cent Theater
-
Cinema​ Doppler
-
Tivoli Cinema
​
Trevor. Spend $1,500,000. Weekly income: $16,000 + up to $60,000 from airfield missions.
-
McKenzie Field
-
Car Scrapyard
-
The Hen House
-
Tequi-la-la
-
Pitchers
-
(Vanilla Unicorn, Sandy Shores Airfield, and Sonar Collections Dock already owned).
​
Franklin. Spend $1,500,000. Weekly income: $18,000 + odd jobs.
-
Smoke on the Water
-
Los Santos Customs
-
Downtown Cab
-
Auto Impound
-
Hookies