In an acceptance speech laced with humor and humility, the LVMH kingpin accepted the John B. Fairchild Honor from WWD.

Bernard Arnault and New York City go back a long way, engendering what he described as a “special connection.”

“My elder children grew up nearby, in New Rochelle, and my younger ones feel at home here,” he told an audience of 450 after receiving the John B. Fairchild Honor for lifetime achievement from WWD at the WWD Apparel and Retail CEO Summit in New York. “I admire New York’s energy and determination to move forward. Here, every minute counts. There is even an expression for it: the ‘New York minute.’

“Charles Lewis Tiffany understood this better than anyone, turning each minute into ‘60 seconds of pure possibility.’”

In an 11-minute acceptance speech laced with humility and dry humor, the chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton shared his admiration for creativity and his flair for business success, occasionally mentioning beloved brands in the vast LVMH stable.

For example, he lauded Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of Tiffany & Co., for revolutionizing the world of jewelry.

“He brought together European legacy and American innovation to create something unique. He introduced new ways of selling with the legendary ‘Blue Book,’” Arnault related. “He set new standards of excellence that have endured over a century. He had a vision. He was a true American entrepreneur.”

Arnault, who acquired Tiffany & Co. in 2021, also exalted his long ties to WWD and its legendary — and feared — publisher and editor John B.

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