Tom Cruise: Cutting Ties With L.A. ... Sells Beverly Hills Mansion

Tom Cruise has decided to leave Los Angeles because he's saying goodbye to the estate he called home for nearly a decade.

Our real estate spies tell us ... Tom has sold the 10,000 square foot mansion he shared with Katie Holmes for $40 million. He was asking $45 mil but no takers at that price. Tom still cashed in ... he bought the pad from real estate guru Kurt Rappaport -- who owed it back in 2007 -- for $32.5 mil.

The buyer is billionaire Leon Black, who's worth $4.7 billion. Black owns a private equity firm.

As for the house, it has 7 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, a tennis court, a swimming pool (of course), a children's playground and a couple of guesthouses.

The house is currently in escrow. Tom also sold a Hollywood Hills compound back in October for $11.4 million to Eva Longoria.

We don't know where Tom's gonna call home.