This really shouldn't be an "eye opening" moment for anybody. Or at least it's only part of one. Do you think the senior executives are your best friends? Or the middle managers? Or even the entry-level ICs? Which of them would you prioritize over your livelihood, the ability to support your family? Hopefully very few to none.

Of course they care about money. When you pay somebody a lot of money to spend a lot of time doing a task they wouldn't do for free, it shouldn't be a shock that they care about the money a whole lot more than the task. Employees have more of a stake in the long-term success in the company so the incentives are a little different, but the principle is the same.

It also doesn't answer OPs question even slightly. Some manager(s) decided to spend of lot of company money hiring consultants. They definitely thought it would be good for themselves, maybe they thought it would be good for the company (ie investors and remaining employees) too. Why did they think those things, and are they ever right? One would expect them to be correct sometimes. People don't get addicted to literally lighting money on fire, they get addicted to gambling because sometimes they win.