"Man kann den Armen nicht helfen, indem man die Reichen vernichtet." Abraham Lincoln (angeblich)

Ronald Reagan und viele andere haben diesen Satz Abraham Lincoln zugeschrieben, aber er stammt von Rev. William John Henry Boetcker, einem völlig vergessenen amerikanischen Prediger.

Snopes, 2018:

• "The Rev. William John Henry Boetcker was a Presbyterian minister and notable public speaker who served as director of the pro-employer Citizens’ Industrial Alliance, a position he held when, in 1916, he produced a booklet of “nuggets” from his lectures, which included maxims such as “We cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong” ..." (Link)

 

Zehn Gebote ("The Ten Cannots") von John Henry Boetcker, die Abraham Lincoln unterschoben werden:

• "You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
  You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
  You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
  You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
  You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
  You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
  You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
  You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
  You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.
  You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves."
  

Auf Deutsch gibt es dieses  Pseudo-Abraham-Lincoln-Zitat seit ungefähr zwanzig Jahren; es wird seitdem von Managementratgebern, Online-Zitatlexika, aber auch durch eine Duden-Ausgabe und durch Zeitungen verbreitet.
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Quellen:
Google
Dudenredaktion: Duden - Zitate und Ausspüche, Duden Verlag, 2012, S. 661 (Link) (fälschlich Abraham Lincoln zugeschrieben.)
Wikipedia 
Snopes, 2009, 2018 (Link)