A farmer has revealed how he turned down a 'silly money' deal to buy his land by Bet365 boss Denise Coates for her space-age mansion, declaring 'We're not for sale.'
Edward Colclough rebuffed efforts by the betting queen to snap up his property in Cheshire as it backs onto her planned huge estate.
But although he said he would not sell, he wished her well as his neighbour and said he was looking forward to getting on with her.
Private Denise, 53, has been buying up neighbours' houses and land to expand her space-age home nicked 'Tesco Extra' by locals.
This week it emerged she had paid herself £469million -the biggest salary in UK history.
Mr Colcough refused to be drawn on whether a formal offer had been made to him.
But he told MailOnline: 'This farm has been in my family for years. We're not for sale.
'I don't object to her building. She is my neighbour so I will get on with her.'
One close neighbour said: 'She has been trying to buy up all the land as she does not want to be overlooked.
'She has been offering silly money. But one farmer has refused to sell, and good on him.'
Artist Steve Marr has run a pottery workshop in a barn on the Mr Colclough's land.
He said: 'The farm has been in the family for donkeys years. I guess that's why he doesn't want to sell.
'We haven't had any offers from her otherwise I would be sitting in the Bahamas.
'Our place is no good to her without the farm land which I believe stretches to where she is building.'
Kirsten Rausing is the UK's richest woman and has a fortune of £12.1billion.
Her money comes from the packaging firm Tetra Laval and she is the 150th richest person in the world.
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is the second most wealthy woman in the UK, thanks to her stake in beer firm Heineken.
She is worth £10.3billion and lives with Michel de Carvalho, a financier and director of Citigroup.
Marit Hausing only this year reached the third in the richest list, but in sad circumstances.
Her £12.1billion fortune came through inheritance after the death of her husband Hans.
Kirsty Bertarelli is the fourth richest woman in the UK with her £9.2billion fortune.
She is a former Miss UK and comes from the family that owned world ceramics firm Churchill China.
Bet365 boss Denise Coates is the fifth richest woman in the UK and is worth £7.2billion.
She started working in bookmaking as a teenager when she worked in shops owned by her father.
Neighbouring farmer Ed Nield is believed to have been paid more than £1million to scrap plans for canalside marina so she could build her estate.
Mrs Coates plans are nearing reality after she spent £5.5million buying up hundreds of acres of farmland.
It was dreamt up with the world-renowned architecture firm Foster and Partners, usually best-known for skyscrapers, airports and commercial buildings.
The sprawling home is set in 52 acres of Cheshire parkland and will include an artificial lake, sunken tennis courts, as well as stables, ornamental gardens, workers' cottages and a boathouse.
Mrs Coates took a salary of £421million, topped up with a £48million dividend payment from her 50 per cent stake in the business.
The Coates family are estimated to be worth around £6.8 billion, making Mrs Coates the UK's 5th richest woman behind Marit and Kirsten Rausing, Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Kirsty Bertarelli.
Mrs Coates started working in bookmaking as a teenager when she worked in shops owned by her father, the son of a miner who made his fortune in the sports stadium catering business.
The mother of five children, including four girls adopted from the same family, saw that the future of the industry was online, and mortgaged the betting shops to build the Bet365 website.
She bought the domain name on eBay and launched the site in 2001, growing rapidly thanks to prolific advertising fronted by actor Ray Winston.
The company is now a global leader employing 5,100 out of headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent and Gibraltar.
Bet365 did not respond to a MailOnline request for a comment.
