Gary Shilling says the S&P 500 may crash 30%, a recession will hit — and bitcoin and AI are both overhyped

• The S&P 500 may be headed for a 30% crash, a legendary market forecaster has warned.
• Gary Shilling said stocks were "very expensive and very distorted" and likely to disappoint buyers.
• The top economist said that he expected a recession this year and that bitcoin and AI were overhyped.

A legendary market prophet has warned that the S&P 500 could crash 30% to a three-year low, the US economy is barreling toward a recession this year, and the buzz around bitcoin and artificial intelligence is massively overblown.

"Stocks are very expensive and very distorted," Gary Shilling told Business Insider in an interview. He compared the "tremendous weighting" of the "Magnificent Seven" in indexes today to the "Nifty Fifty" group of stocks in the 1970s, noting that high-flying members such as Kodak and Polaroid eventually plummeted in value.