I'm not pointing any fingers toward miners, in fact I believe that they deserve to have some extra fees sometimes as a reward for their contribution to the Bitcoin network. The high fees aren't caused by miners, those are caused by the ordinals.
It is not entirely true if you say that Bitcoin investment is only for rich people. Everyone can invest in Bitcoin and if you are talking about losses, I suspect your friend is a trader, which for me is like gambling with your money. I suggest you to become a long term Hodler and do the DCA method to invest in Bitcoin. This is important because those who find success are usually long-term Hodlers.