Add a US$15,000 non-refundable processing fee and a US$1 million gift for each qualifying person, or US$2 million where a corporate sponsor gives for an employee, then add legal fees, translations and any charges attaching to the underlying immigrant classification.
Some of the outlay is spent before any decision is made
The important distinction is between money spent to be considered and money given after being accepted. The processing fee falls in the first group: it is paid per person, it is not refundable, and an unsuccessful vetting does not bring it back. The gift falls in the second group and arises only after vetting succeeds, but once made it is gone in the same way any gift is gone.
Around both sit ordinary costs that no programme page lists — counsel to assess admissibility and classification eligibility, certified translations of civil documents, and the filing charges that attach to the immigrant classification actually used, which are published in the USCIS fee schedule. Anselm should also price the alternative honestly. For a business owner, the sums involved here are large enough that comparing them against other employment-based or investment routes, with a lawyer rather than an acquaintance, is time well spent.