Lester Crest

Lester Crest is the mastermind behind the heists in Grand Theft Auto V and one of the most important characters in both the story and GTA Online. A brilliant but physically frail hacker and planner, Lester is the man who scouts targets, finds crew members and builds the plans that Michael, Franklin and Trevor carry out. In GTA Online he becomes a key contact who offers heists, removes wanted levels and helps run the Diamond Casino Heist. This wiki page covers Lester’s background, role in the story, assassination missions, GTA Online appearances and fun facts.

Lester Crest at a glance

Background

Lester worked with Michael during his robbery days before Michael faked his death, and he is one of the few people who knew Michael was alive. He has a degenerative condition that affects his movement, so he relies on a cane and later sometimes a wheelchair, but he more than makes up for it with intelligence and computer skills. He lives alone in El Burro Heights, surrounded by computers, screens and toy models, and prefers to stay behind the scenes.

Role in the GTA 5 story

When Michael needs money to pay cartel boss Martin Madrazo, he goes to Lester. Lester plans the Jewel Store Job at Vangelico, the first heist of the game, and from then on he plans every major heist: The Merryweather Heist, The Paleto Score, The Bureau Raid and The Big Score at the Union Depository. For each one, players choose between approaches Lester lays out, such as a loud or a smart approach, and pick crew members whose skill affects the result and how much of the take they keep.

How heists work with Lester

1. Lester introduces the target and scouting missions.
2. You choose an approach, each with different preparation missions and risks.
3. You hire crew members, such as gunmen, drivers and hackers. Better crew cost a bigger cut but perform better.
4. You complete setup missions to get vehicles, equipment and information.
5. You carry out the heist, switching between characters.

Lester’s assassination missions

Lester also gives Franklin a series of assassination contracts: The Hotel Assassination, The Multi Target Assassination, The Vice Assassination, The Bus Assassination and The Construction Assassination. Each target’s death affects the in-game stock market, and Lester tips Franklin about which company stock will rise. This is the single best way to make money in GTA 5 story mode: before each mission, invest all three characters’ money in the right stock, complete the hit, wait for the price to rise, then sell. Several missions are best saved until after the final heist, when the protagonists have the most money to invest. See GTA 5 facts and the GTA V hub for more money tips.

Lester in GTA Online

• Early contact missions: Lester gives players jobs soon after they start GTA Online.
• Remove wanted level: call Lester to make the police ignore you for a fee, a useful tool during missions.
• Heists (2015): Lester appears in the original heists update alongside other contacts.
• The Diamond Casino Heist (2019): Lester partners with Georgina Cheng to plan the robbery of the Diamond Casino vault, one of the most popular and profitable heists in GTA Online. You plan approaches and crew at an arcade property that Lester helps set up.
• Other updates: Lester appears in various missions, events and businesses, often as a hacker or planner.

For more, see the GTA Online page.

Personality

Lester is sarcastic, nervous and fiercely intelligent. He complains constantly, hates being out in public and takes no risks with his own safety, but he is completely confident when planning. He has a dry sense of humor and a habit of insulting the protagonists while helping them. Despite his grumpiness, he is loyal to Michael and to the crew, and he is one of the few characters every protagonist trusts.

Relationships

• Michael: his oldest associate. Lester knows Michael’s secrets and often calls out his self-pity.
• Franklin: Lester sees potential in him and gives him the assassination jobs.
• Trevor: Lester tolerates Trevor’s chaos but worries about what he will do next.

Fun facts

• Lester’s house is full of figurines and computer equipment, and he is shown to love technology and model collecting.
• He is one of the few GTA 5 story characters who appears in a huge number of GTA Online updates.
• His heist planning boards became an iconic part of GTA 5’s design and returned in GTA Online.
• Lester is a recurring meme in the GTA community for his voice and reactions.

Lester Crest FAQ

Who is Lester in GTA 5?

The heist planner and hacker who organizes every major heist.

How do you make money with Lester’s missions?

Invest in the stock market before his assassination missions, then sell after the price rises.

What does Lester do in GTA Online?

He gives missions, removes wanted levels and co-plans the Diamond Casino Heist.

Who voices Lester?

Jay Klaitz.

Lester’s heist approaches

Lester’s heists usually offer two approaches, and choosing between them changes the setup missions and the finale. For the Jewel Store Job, you can go Loud, storming in with weapons, or Smart, using knockout gas through the ventilation and a disguise. For the Big Score, you can choose Subtle, using the Gauntlet cars and swapping trains, or Obvious, a full assault with helicopters lifting the gold. The Bureau Raid offers a Fire Crew approach disguised as firefighters or a Roof Entry approach. Each choice affects the crew you need, the risk and the final payout, so many players replay the story to see both options.

Choosing crew members

Lester offers gunmen, drivers and hackers for each heist. Cheaper crew take a smaller cut but may make mistakes: a weak hacker gives you less time in the vault, a weak driver may crash, and a weak gunman may die and lose part of the take. Experienced crew cost more but almost always succeed. Crew members who survive heists gain skill, so using cheap crew on early heists can make them strong and affordable for later ones. Packie McReary and Chef are popular cheap options that level well, while Paige Harris is a top hacker unlocked through a random event.

Where to find Lester

Lester’s house in El Burro Heights is where many heist planning scenes take place. During the story, the heist boards appear in safehouses such as the garment factory and Michael’s home, where you choose approaches and crew.

Lester and the stock market

The Lester stock tips are famous because they can turn a few million dollars into billions in story mode. The common advice is to complete only the first assassination early, then save the rest until after The Big Score, invest every protagonist’s money in the right company before each hit, and wait several in-game days for prices to peak. It is the classic GTA 5 money strategy, and it is all thanks to Lester.

Without Lester, there would be no heists at all, which makes him the quiet hero of the whole story.

Every crew needs a Lester.

Truly the brains.

A legend.