A quick way to get gold without stealing or fighting for it is to join a guild. When you join a guild you will have access to a number of guild halls all over Tamriel. You can pick up nearly any item in the various guilds without making it a crime, and without labeling your items as stolen. By doing this you can just loot the guild halls and sell them to the closest merchant for an easy profit.

Defeat Caminalda on the Anvil Recommendation quest for the mages guild, then search her body for gold and her room key for the inn. Use her room key on the upper door in the inn. You will find a treasure chest in the back of the room. Open the unlocked chest to get all the gold inside.