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Chapter 14 of The Chamber of Secrets claims that
Harry had inherited just one thing from his father: a long and silvery Invisibility Cloak. It was their only chance of sneaking out of the school to visit Hagrid without anyone knowing about it...
Given how much family gold he had inherited from his father, why did the book claim this?
While it is true that Harry inherited a considerable amount of money, that isn't quite the same thing as inheriting an actual possession from your parents. I think that is what the line you quote means when it says he only inherited one "thing".
A possession, such as the invisibility cloak is a very personal thing while money (gold) is pretty impersonal.
Also, it is possible that most of Harry's parents possessions were damaged or destroyed when the house in Godric's Hollow was ruined during Voldemort's attack. When Harry and Hermione see it in Deathly Hallows we are told that:
The hedge had grown wild in the sixteen years since Hagrid had taken Harry from the rubble that lay scattered amongst the waist-high grass. Most of the cottage was still standing, though entirely covered in dark ivy and snow, but the right side if the top floor had been blown apart.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Chapter 17, Bathilda's Secret
The author seems to be driving at the fact that his gold is family money whereas the cloak was a specific bequest of his father, given to Dumbledore for safe keeping. It's the only object that he inherited from his father.
That being said, Harry did technically inherit his gold from his mother since his father pre-deceased her by a few minutes. I don't think that's what the author meant though.
I have three things to add to the existing answer set.
First, 'had inherited' is in the past perfect tense, which indicates that an action is completed, but Harry Potter hasn't yet completely inherited the gold from his father. There is no mention that he's even received the key that's necessary to access it, and the only time he accesses it is with adult supervision - let's remember that he's still a minor, even by wizarding standards.
Second, there's no indication at this point of the source of that gold. Hagrid left it at "It's all yours", so for all we know the gold came from his deceased maternal grandmother, not his father.
Third, it's possible that, since this statement is written from Harry's point of view, it could just be part of Harry's general indifference to money. Would Harry remember a pile of gold out in Gringotts when he's concerned with a risky venture in Hogwarts? Probably not.
