I've seen XTR chains for 45 bucks but the xtr FD's are usually at least 60 but yeah they are pretty close. the FD and chain are the smallest ticket items in the drivetrain. He mentioned getting spinergy wheels, didnt say that he already had them so I assume that is another purchase. I looked up those wheels, there is nothing too special about them, probably a lateral move at best from the bd wheels. By the way, there is another Bikesdirect bike that is SRAM XO. I was using XTR as an example but look at this one. IT's only 2100 because it's alloy frame not titanium.
Mountain Bikes - MTB - Motobecane Fantom Team SRAM XO 2x10 20 Speed 2011
so he could get all SRAM XO except the crank (the fsa is a better crank anyways) and still have the sweet bike that you are mentioning, then sell the frame and fork and the only little part he would have to buy is a seatpost because it's not going to fit. In your scenario he spends about $1500 and gets SRAM XO Groupset including the brakes but has no wheels. The wheels he is looking at are a $500 wheelset and anything custom built new for his weight (240lbs) is gonna cost around that unless he decides to build them himself which is totally doable.
so he needs to still spend the following
Wheels $500
Ritchey WCS alloy seatpost 75
Ritchey WCS alloy 4axis stem $75
Ritchey WCS Handlebar $75
Ritchey Streem Saddle $75
When all is said and done, he is probably spending about 2300 bucks.
In my scenario he spends $2100 + $75 for a proper sized seat post and gets SRAM XO shiters and RD, FSA Crank that is as good if not better than SRAM and a set of wheels with tires and all of the little things except a seatpost. The trade off is that he does get a lesser level of brakes but in my scenario he has a bike that can be ridden! in yours his bike is still in the stand waiting for a set of wheels and tires. He will then have a frame, Reba Fork, headset, front derailleur and seatpost that he can sell off. If he doesn't want a long drawn out hassle of getting that stuff sold he could advertise it all for $500 and i'm sure it would sell in a day. 1 week max. If he's willing to wait, he may get a lot more. So in my scenario he is riding his bike for $1675 with high end parts. With the $625 he has saved he can upgrade the brakes if he finds they aren't to his liking and he can also consider upgrading other bits to really high end finishes i.e. carbon bars.
Lets not forget that if he doesn't sell off the frame he has paid the same amount of money but now he's got a few parts. he might wreck his carbon frame 6 months down the road and need somthign to ride while he waits for a warranty repair. he's got a frame to throw it all on. He might decide that he loves his full suspension high end bike but wants a hard tail for another purpose, he's now got a chassis to build off of. This is one of the ways that we all start amassing our bike stuff and parts bins.
Never underestimate the cost of those "little things" that was the first thing I learned when building my first bike up. Thought I had everything good to go and then it was like "oh yeah, I need a couple of tubes $10 oops forgot pedals $25 oh dammit, i bought tubes but forgot rim tape $10, damn I got the shifters but forgot the cable housing $10, oh yeah I bought the saddle but what about the post and the clamp $30. I was doing a budget build and suddenly I was adding on another $100 of little things. Now start doing it with high end stuff and your costs go through the roof. I realize that my scenario isn't the simplest; but if your trying to learn how to work on bikes and you are trying to save a little money in the process while builiding high end, its one of the only ways to go. His other option is to source all used parts. I have no problem buying used road bike parts with some limits, but I'd be a bit more wary buying used MTB parts due to the amount of abuse they potentially get subjected to.