Malcolm Ross James is a man of mystery. Guarded when it comes to discussing details of his personal life, the elusive entrepreneur insists he wants to keep himself and his family out of the media spotlight.
But his business plans are not nearly so low-key.
James is the brains behind a controversial "billionaires' playground" scheme in the grounds of his home, the Dall estate at Loch Rannoch.
Insisting that "money is no object", the extravagant list of proposals for his unique club aimed at only the super-rich reads like something out of a fantastical dream.
James is adamant that only "star architects", including Norman Foster, will be allowed to finalise the designs, with many buildings constructed underground to ensure complete privacy. Top singers and performers are to be flown in on a monthly basis to entertain his guests, who will eat at 12 luxury restaurants staffed by Michelin-star chefs.
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A shopping arcade will stock top-of-the-range fashion and jewellery, and a plastic surgeon will perform "body enhancement" procedures at a clinic.
James, 44, insists that most high-profile celebrities will not be rich enough to join his club, with its membership fees of £2m a year. Only multi-billionaires will meet his criteria. It will be a Highlands paradise where the super-wealthy can mingle freely, protected from the predatory wiles of ordinary people, who he believes take advantage of the extremely rich, making it difficult for them to form relationships.
But the question James refuses to answer is whether he himself would meet the strict financial criteria for membership.
Almost nothing is known about him. A devout Jehovah's Witness, he has never appeared on the directors' list of any large company.
The only official record of his business involvement is as a director of a management company for a block of flats he developed in Penryn, Cornwall, almost 20 years ago. James will only reveal is that he has not generated the majority of his wealth from property, adding that he is a "speculator".
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"It is not about me," he protests, when quizzed on his professional background. But as interest in the project grows, so does the fascination with the man behind the scheme.
The father of seven, whose children are aged between 23 and three weeks, speaks about the trials and tribulations of living with extreme wealth.
"These are not people who appear on the rich lists," he says. "They are not directors of listed companies who have to publish details of everything they've got. There are some who want to flaunt their wealth, but most remain quiet. The people are not celebrities, they are speculators, but they are loaded. Many are reclusive.
"Myself, I am an independent entrepreneur and I think it's important to be like that."
The Dall estate was once a school with sporting and leisure facilities open to the public, and the locals have not taken kindly to the strict security measures which began after the James family moved there in 2003. It is understood his younger children do not attend the local school and are taught at home by a visiting teacher.
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Richard Legate of the Loch Rannoch conservation association says James has isolated himself from the tight-knit community. "There is a big question mark over Mr James," he says. "He is not really part of the community and is a very private person. He remains a mystery and he seems to wish to keep it that way."
James insists he does have friends, but most of them have more cash than ordinary people could imagine. One such friend is to be a private backer for his project, the details of which are to be finalised when planning permission is granted. James will be putting some of his own money into the scheme, an investment he describes as a "financial gem".
But life has not always been this luxurious. He is reluctant to reveal where he grew up beyond "all over Cornwall", where he married his wife, Julia Baldi, in 1984. But he admits that he is not from a moneyed background.
Past Cornish addresses listed for James on documents relating to his Penryn development company include Manor House in Dodbrook and Delmont House in Redruth. Locals describe the properties as "nice", but not outstanding.
Local estate agent Brian Gibb, of Ezy Move, said he would be surprised if James had made a fortune from small-scale property development in Cornwall. "I knew a couple of people in the 1990s and early 2000s who made quite a few shillings if they bought and sold at the right point, but I wasn't aware of many people who made millions in this part of the country," he says.
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James, described by one acquaintance as a "family man" - he has seven children aged between 23 years and three weeks - seems reluctant to return to his Cornish roots.
"My memory of Cornwall is when the coastal villages we're real fishing villages," he says. "But there are a lot of yuppie snobs down there now."