Sharma’s Billionaire Indicator is a fascinating theory. But billionaire lists suffer from a fatal flaw: accuracy. Determining people’s precise net worth is a difficult (and often misleading) endeavor. The game is even harder in emerging markets, where there is little transparency. History is filled with examples where so-called billionaires wound up being worth far more or far less than their rank on wealth lists implied.

The fact that China’s billionaires never report net worths over $10 billion is further evidence that the lists are managed.

Still, over time the lists may get better and larger, providing more data for the Billionaire Indicators.

Do you think billionaires tell us anything about an economy?

-By CNBC's Robert FrankFollow Robert Frank on Twitter: @robtfrank

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