I'd like to stick my oar in on behalf of the using HP to buy up the wealth ability, like other abilities. For one thing it keeps the mechanics within the game more streamlined.
The other thing is that economics _are_ exceptionally hard to model, especially when the economic paradigm is so different from your own. One of the major differences about economic changes as opposed to other character changes is that there _is_ an opposing force to progressing.
If you spend HP to increase your close combat then there is nothing opposing that progress beyond physical capabilities. With your wealth the general economy tends to restrain your growth...that is what would be missing from the buy with HP idea, but even more of a hole in the "if I raid 20 cows how much does my wealth increase if I cement it with one HP" argument...
I don't think the game needs to simulate the wealth too closely - it would only encourage some players to empire build and try to use economics to achieve things that their more expensive skills could not.
If a player says that he has raided four cows and wants to know how much that increases his wealth a simple answer is "how many HP do you want to spend?"
The spending, or non-spending, of HP will do all the handwaving and the narrator can say why his wealth did or did not increase depending on the HP spend.
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