Joseph Stalin
In conclusion,
QI believes that Thomas Nast deserves credit for the caption in his 1871 cartoon which was satirizing William Marcy Tweed. An efflorescence of sayings appeared subsequently.
In 1877 “The Daily Examiner” of San Francisco attributed an instance to Zack Chandler, but
QI conjectures that this attribution was based on political hostility. Boris Bazhanov in 1992 attributed an instance to Joseph Stalin, but there was a long time delay between when the remark was supposedly spoken in 1923 and when it was reported; hence, the credibility of the claim was reduced.
Cartoon by Thomas Nast published in “Harper’s Weekly” on October 7, 1871.