Totally agree about the wealthy being very cheap about taking care of their parents! I know a "California super lawyer" who lives in a mansion in Belvedere who was recently kvetching about how his father's medication copays went up a total of an extra $4 per month. He honestly complained to me that because of this $4 increase his father wouldn't be able to EAT any more. It took everything I had not to be like, "I know you drive a Tesla and live in an $8 million dollar mansion so I think you can swing dad's extra copays!" He wanted me to try and find his dad government assistance copay relief, which is a process I'll happily help out with for actually low income patients.
I think a lot of other cultures (Asian, Jewish) do eldercare a lot better than we do. To this day, if someone asks me for a recommendation of a place to put mom and dad, I always recommend the Jewish Home for the Aged, they are fantastic and you don't have to be Jewish to live there. They just have a 3+ year waiting list because everybody knows they are the best in the industry.
I'm sorry about your friend. Sounds like you were a great friend and caregiver to him.